A Recap of The Movie ‘Trap’

Written by Michael Lee

*All Media used in this article is courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Photo via Warner Bros. Pictures

Official Trailer: Trap (2024)

Video via Warner Bros. Pictures

Plot Synopsis

A man named Cooper Adams takes his teenage daughter, Riley, to see her favorite popstar, Lady Raven, as a reward for her good grades. As they make their way into the stadium, Cooper notices a swell of police presence at the concert. Jamie, a friendly vendor at the concert stadium, informs Cooper that the cops are actually the FBI and they are planning to capture ‘The Butcher’, a famous serial killer here at the concert, as they have been tipped off about his supposed presence.

Little to Jamie’s knowledge, though, it’s actually Cooper that’s the infamous Butcher murderer. Cooper departs the crowd to secretly view his phone, which contains security camera footage of his captive victim locked away in his basement. Cooper secretly swipes Jamie’s employee ID card and quickly learns phrases that incorrectly frame him as just an employee of the venue. Cooper makes his way to the backrooms and steals a radio.

Cooper hears a live radio broadcast of a woman predicting his movements. Cooper, unsettled, deliberately causes a destructive explosion in the food vendor area, which allows him to make way to the roof in secret. It is here he learns the woman’s voice is Dr. Josephine Grant, who happens to be an FBI profiler.

Cooper then makes his way back to his daughter, who seems upset and confused by her father’s erratic behavior. It’s here when Riley expresses her desire to be one of Lady Raven’s ‘Dreamer Girls’, who gets to dance with Lady Raven live on stage and afterward, is granted backstage access. Cooper is reminded that Jamie had said that this backstage exit Riley was talking about was not covered by the police. Cooper, attempting to plan his escape, lies to Lady Raven’s uncle that Riley is recovering from leukemia, which will in turn, get Riley selected as a ‘Dreamer Girl’. His plan works and Riley is offered to go backstage.

Cooper notices that Lady Raven’s exit is indeed protected by police. He reveals himself as the Butcher to Lady Raven. He threatens her with the live footage of his captive, promising her he will kill Spencer, the victim, from here, from his phone unless she smuggles Riley and Cooper out of the venue in her limousine. She agrees to this, but asks to accompany Riley to her home.

Lady Raven has devised a plan of her own; stalling for time by detailing the process of the FBI’s operation against The Butcher to Cooper and Riley. Lady Raven informs Cooper that Dr. Grant’s profile of Cooper as being someone with ‘maternal issues’, which visibly bother Cooper. Lady Raven also explains that the reason the FBI knows The Butcher is here is because of a torn ticket to the concert in an abandoned house. Lady Raven quickly grabs Cooper’s phone and beelines to the bathroom, locking herself in. She gets details from Spencer, Cooper’s victim, about where he is located. She livestreams her fans, begging them to help find Spencer. She finds a fan that lives near the house and Raven encourages that family to free Spencer. She outs Cooper as The Butcher to Cooper’s wife, Rachel and after Cooper secures his family upstairs, Ravenn informs her driver to call the authorities. However, before the driver could act, Cooper unlocks the door, attempting to flee with Lady Raven. To his surprise, his own family swiftly blocked the exit, giving Lady Raven the opportunity to make her escape.

The police finally arrive but Cooper manages to escape through a secret tunnel, in which he quickly disguises himself as a SWAT officer and attempts to break into Lady Raven’s limo. He does, but Raven manages to draw the attention of her fans as they make their way downtown, encouraging them to try to stall Cooper long enough for the cops to close in on them. They do, but he escapes by donning civilian clothing to blend in with the crowd.

Upon returning home, he confronts Rachel, who admits she suspected him of being the Butcher and had left the receipt in the empty house for the police to discover. In a moment of rage, he resolves to kill her and then himself. Rachel then persuades him to taste the pie she made for Riley, as she’s drugged it. As he eats the pie, he confesses his deep-seated hatred towards her for robbing him of the chance to watch his children grow up.

As the drugs begin to take effect, he begins to hallucinate, seeing his mother—who is actually Dr. Grant in disguise—praising him for experiencing a genuine emotion. Consumed by this distorted vision, he moves toward Rachel, but is abruptly subdued by a taser. Dr. Grant and a SWAT team swiftly take him into custody.

In a fleeting moment of clarity, he pauses to adjust Riley’s bike, sharing a heartfelt, tearful embrace with her before being loaded into a police van. Amidst the chaos, he discreetly steals a spoke from the bike wheel and uses it to unlock his handcuffs. As he escapes his restraints, he smiles eerily, revealing a glimmer of defiance even as he's led away. The screen fades to black.