TRAP
Note: This Movie recap was submitted by Shorif
We start off with Cooper driving his teenage daughter, Riley, to a concert. It’s a big night for Riley because they’re going to see her favorite pop star, Lady Raven. From the outside, Cooper seems like the perfect father—attentive and loving—but underneath, there’s something much darker going on.
As they drive to the concert, Riley opens up to her father about her troubles at school. She’s been bullied by a girl named Jody, who has made her life miserable. Cooper listens, offering comforting words to his daughter. But even as they have this heartfelt conversation, we start to get glimpses of Cooper’s unsettling behavior. He’s distracted, constantly checking his phone, and we soon learn why.
Upon arriving at the venue, we see Riley’s excitement build as they join the crowd. Lady Raven’s concert is a huge event, with screaming fans and flashing lights everywhere. Riley is eager to enjoy the show, and Cooper does his best to keep up the facade of being a normal, doting dad. But as soon as Lady Raven takes the stage, Cooper excuses himself and heads to the restroom. That’s when we first get a look into his true nature.
In the bathroom, Cooper checks his phone again, and we see that he’s not just looking at messages or social media. Instead, he’s monitoring a live camera feed of a man tied up in a dingy room. This man, Spencer Gordon, is Cooper’s latest victim. Cooper has been keeping Spencer locked away in a remote hideout, and this feed lets him keep an eye on his captive. The tension immediately rises as we realize that Cooper isn’t just an ordinary dad—he’s “The Butcher,” a notorious serial killer.
As Cooper exits the restroom, he bumps into Jody’s mother, who insists on talking about the drama between their daughters. It’s a small, uncomfortable moment that Cooper tries to brush off, but it highlights how his two worlds are starting to collide—his normal life as a father and his dark, murderous side as The Butcher.
Cooper quickly realizes something is wrong when he notices an unusually high number of police officers at the concert. He overhears a conversation that the authorities have been tipped off that The Butcher is attending the concert. The police have set up a perimeter around the venue, ensuring that no one can leave without being checked.
Back in the crowd, Riley is having the time of her life, completely unaware of the dark reality unraveling around her. Cooper, on the other hand, starts to panic. He knows the police are looking for him, and if they find out who he really is, his life will be over. But being the calculated killer he is, Cooper doesn’t lose his cool. Instead, he starts formulating a plan to escape.
First, Cooper needs to create a distraction. He subtly pushes a drunk woman down a flight of stairs, causing chaos among the concertgoers. As people rush to help the woman, Cooper slips away and heads back into the crowd, where he starts searching for a way out.
At this point, the film cuts to a conversation between Cooper and a merchandise salesman named Jamie. Jamie, a fan of true crime, brings up The Butcher’s case, not realizing he’s speaking to the killer himself. This interaction gives Cooper the opportunity to steal Jamie’s employee ID card, which he’ll use later to access restricted areas of the venue.
With Jamie’s ID card in hand, Cooper sneaks into the backstage area of the concert venue. He finds his way into the security office, where he overhears a police briefing on The Butcher. Through a stolen police radio, he listens in as Dr. Josephine Grant, the FBI’s top profiler, lays out the details of the case. The police are tightening the noose around Cooper, but he’s not out of moves yet.
Cooper knows he can’t simply walk out of the concert. The police are checking every man in the crowd, and sooner or later, they’ll find him. To buy himself more time, he sets off an explosion in the arena’s kitchen by tossing two glass oil bottles into a fryer. The explosion severely burns an employee and causes mass panic in the venue. As people scream and run for the exits, Cooper slips back into the crowd, unnoticed once again.
Amidst the chaos, the concert continues. Lady Raven announces that she will be choosing one lucky fan from the audience to join her onstage for the next song. Much to Riley’s delight, she is chosen to be the “Dreamer Girl.” Riley is ecstatic, and Cooper watches from the sidelines as his daughter takes the stage. This brief moment of fatherly pride is overshadowed by the fact that Cooper is still desperately searching for a way out.
While Riley is on stage with Lady Raven, Cooper’s mind is racing. He knows he needs to act fast. He uses Jamie’s stolen ID card to access the break room, where the police are holding a meeting. There, Cooper learns about the police’s plan to check every man leaving the venue. Realizing he’s running out of time, Cooper devises a new plan—he’ll use Lady Raven herself to escape.
After Riley’s performance, Cooper and his daughter are invited backstage to meet Lady Raven. As they head backstage, Cooper keeps his eye on the police officers milling around, trying to stay one step ahead of them.
When they finally meet Lady Raven, Cooper makes his move. He confronts her in private and reveals his true identity as The Butcher. Cooper pulls out his phone and shows Lady Raven the live camera feed of Spencer, still locked up in his hideout. He threatens her, saying that if she doesn’t help him and Riley leave the venue, he will release carbon monoxide into Spencer’s room, killing him.
Lady Raven, terrified for Spencer’s life, reluctantly agrees. Cooper tells her to let him and Riley leave in her limo, knowing that it won’t be searched by the police. With no other choice, Lady Raven goes along with the plan.
Cooper, Riley, and Lady Raven leave the concert in the limo, with the police completely unaware of what’s happening. As they drive away, Lady Raven tries to think of a way to turn the situation in her favor. Cooper, meanwhile, is fully aware that Lady Raven might try something. He’s constantly watching her, making sure she doesn’t alert the authorities.
When they arrive at Cooper’s home, Lady Raven takes advantage of a brief moment of privacy to grab Cooper’s phone. She uses the phone’s camera app to speak to Spencer, trying to get more information about where he’s being held. Through a livestream, Lady Raven reaches out to her fans, describing the location Spencer gave her. One of her fans recognizes the place—a broken lion statue near a house with a blue door—and alerts the police.
Cooper is losing control of the situation, but he doesn’t realize it yet. He’s too focused on keeping his family and Lady Raven under control.
At Cooper’s home, the tension reaches its peak. Cooper’s wife, Rachel, and their son, Logan, join the group for dinner. Rachel is immediately suspicious of Lady Raven’s presence, and it doesn’t take long for her to start piecing things together. During dinner, Lady Raven drops hints about The Butcher’s crimes, subtly trying to communicate with Rachel without Cooper catching on.
As the meal progresses, Lady Raven becomes more direct, eventually revealing to Rachel that Cooper is The Butcher. Rachel is shocked, but deep down, she already suspected that something was off with her husband. Cooper tries to deflect the accusation, but it’s too late—the truth is out.
In a desperate move, Cooper grabs Lady Raven and threatens to kill her if anyone tries to stop him. He drags her out of the house, planning to make one final escape, but the police are already on their way.
Just when it seems like Cooper has the upper hand, the film delivers a shocking twist. Rachel had already figured out Cooper’s secret. She had suspected him of cheating, but after noticing his strange behavior—especially the smell of cleaning chemicals on his clothes—she realized that something far more sinister was going on.
Rachel found one of Cooper’s hideouts and planted a concert ticket receipt there, tipping off the police and leading them to the concert that night. She knew Cooper was The Butcher, and she had been quietly working behind the scenes to bring him down.
In the film’s climactic moment, Rachel tricks Cooper into eating a slice of pie laced with drugs. As Cooper starts to lose consciousness, the police arrive, tazing him repeatedly until he’s finally subdued.
With Cooper finally in police custody, it seems like justice has been served. But in one final twist, the film reveals that Cooper isn’t finished yet. As he’s being hauled away in handcuffs, Cooper shares a tearful goodbye with Riley, who still doesn’t fully understand what’s going on.
As the police drive away, the camera zooms in on Riley’s old bicycle, revealing that one of the spokes is missing. Cooper had taken the spoke, and he’s using it to pick the locks on his handcuffs. As the film ends, Cooper grins ominously, leaving the door open for a possible escape—and maybe even a sequel.
