Hunka-hunka Josh Hartnett lends his talents to M. Night Shyamalan’s Newest Feature

Review by Rob Hinkal

Following just an all-around awesome dad as he takes his daughter to a Lady Raven concert (I want one of those shirts), M. Knight delivers his signature twist early into the film. Hartnett takes notice of the increased police presence at the concert and asks a kind merch seller what’s going on. The seller kindly informs Hartnett how the entire concert is actually a police operation in an effort to catch the famed serial killer, the Butcher. But that’s not all M. Knight has in his twisted mind… Hartnett heads to the stalls to presumably drop a dump during one of Lady Raven’s signature classics, but once the stall door is locked, instead of pulling down his pants to unleash that arena-soft pretzel he was chowing down on, he pulls out his phone to reveal… GASP, HE’S THE BUTCHER?!?! 

Locked up in his basement is his next victim, whom he can conveniently check in on via a surveillance app on his phone, and this handsome serial killer won’t let anything get in his way of escaping this arena. 

Let’s be real here, this is M. Night Shyamalan, and M. Night Shyamalan does what M. Night Shyamalan wants. There is some laughably ridiculous dialogue in this movie. I was the only one in my theater and I had a total blast with some of these scenes. Josh Hartnett is an enigmatic on-screen sociopath and fully commits to the part, bobbing between the personality of the dad of the year and a ruthless killer. He seems to have fun in the film and is entertaining to watch as he must try and find a way out of the trap he has been led into. Does the plot make much sense? Not at all. Suspension of belief is essential to the film working, but I’ll be damned if you don’t have a good time just going along for the ride.

The concert at the heart of the film is impressively shot. I’m not sure how they did it, but it felt like a live concert experience. The songs by Lady Raven (who just happens to be Saleeka Shyamalan, daughter of the film’s director) are really good! I’m no Lady Raven Stan, but I feel like I could easily bop along to some of these tracks. 

It’s, at its core, a campy, fun thriller with some so-bad-it’s-good moments and enough plot holes to sink a navy vessel, but if you’re up for the adventure, you’ll get to viscerally experience how it feels to walk around Sam’s club without showing the greeter your membership card