Trap | 2024 | PG-13 | – 1.5.5

Why is “Trap” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some violent content and brief strong language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes some revealing costumes worn onstage during a concert, a shirtless man, a young woman being burned by fryer oil, a young woman being pushed down a flight of stairs, discussions of serial murders that include descriptions of severed body parts, heavy police presence at a concert venue, a man being tasered numerous times, a man being held in chains in a basement, discussions of mental illness, and at least 1 F-word and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A man (Josh Hartnett) takes his teen daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a concert by her favorite singer and the event turns out to be more than either of them expected. Also with Hayley Mills, Alison Pill, Saleka Shyamalan, Kid Cudi, Tim Russ, Marnie McPhail, Vanessa Smythe and Jonathan Langdon. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. [Running Time: 1:45]

Trap SEX/NUDITY 1

 – People dance and sway their hips while waiting for a concert to begin.
► A singer on stage wears several skimpy costumes that reveal cleavage, bare abdomen, and bare legs to the hips in several scenes. A singer wears a jacket unzipped in the front that reveals his bare chest and abdomen. Many dancers on a stage wear outfits that reveal cleavage and bare legs. A man removes his shirt and we see his bare chest, abdomen and back.

Trap VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A man turns up the heat under an oil fryer and places glass bottles inside it; a young woman approaches the cooker when it explodes spraying her with hot oil and glass (we see her with burns on her arms and face later as she lies on a stretcher). A woman seems to be inebriated and wobbles at the top of a flight of stairs; a man bumps into her and she falls down to the landing and lies motionless while others attend to her. A man speaks to a woman and she flinches when she is startled; the man drags a large knife across a table and seems to be threatening her with it, he seems unable to pick the knife up after having been sedated, he imagines hearing a woman speaking to him and moves toward a door where he is tasered repeatedly by police; he jumps on one officer and presses his thumbs in the officer’s eyes, he is tasered again, collapses and is handcuffed.
► A woman takes a man’s phone and rushes into a bathroom, locks the door behind her and the man pounds on the door angrily and shouts. We see a live recording of a man chained at the wrists and to a pole in a basement and he calls out for help; we hear that he is going to be killed by asphyxiation from carbon monoxide. A man opens his garage door and sees his family standing outside; another woman in the car gets out and they walk away as the man closes the garage door and police surround the house. A man handcuffs a woman inside a limousine and she frees herself and gets out into a crowd of people as police arrive and shoot into the car (the driver is not there). A man in handcuffs and chains is led to a police transport where he unlocks his handcuffs and laughs.
► A man considers pulling a fire alarm to start a panic in a stadium with many thousands of people. A man flinches when another man touches his shoulder thinking he might have been a police officer. A man puts a woman into a car and speaks to her in a threatening manner. A man yells in frustration. We hear reports of 12 murder victims being dismembered and we see a couple of crime scene photos of body parts covered by sheets (no blood is apparent). A serial murderer is called, “The Butcher.” A suspected killer describes getting the urge when he sees someone that thinks they are whole.
► Many heavily armed police surround a concert venue and are seen taking men out of the concert in a few scenes (presumably to question them). Many scenes show a man seeming to test his skills of evading police as he pushes through many standing in a room and talking to some of them and no one regarding him as a suspect. A man is approached by police and lies about who he is and why he is where he should not be. A man steals a staff person’s key card and a police officer’s radio. A man lies about his teen daughter recovering from leukemia. A killer is described to have a scarring relationship with his mother.
► A man tells a woman that another man will be killed if she does not do something. A man says that he will kill himself (we do not see him do so). A woman yells at a man when he doesn’t seem to be taking her seriously and she grabs his jacket angrily telling him, “Don’t patronize me. I have a dark side.” A teen girl throws a drink at her mother in concert stands and they yell at each other. A woman tells a man, “Not all of you is a monster.” A teen girl yells at her father to hurry up to get to a concert; he pretends to have to stop to tie his shoes and she becomes upset. A man asks his teen daughter about a situation with other girls at school and we understand that they have not been including her in activities and she seems hurt. A woman tells a man that he can choose to be good. A man tells his teen daughter not to let people fool her. A man leaves his teen daughter in her seat in a concert venue several times with many thousand people in the area. A man seems to imagine seeing someone at a sink in a restroom (she is not there). A woman talks about her father leaving when she was 7 years old and that she has found a way to forgive him. Some song lyrics refer to danger and being like a loaded gun. A man yells at a staff person a few times, being dismissive and making demands. A woman describes a man being a very convincing liar. Many teens cheer and wave as a singer stops to greet them; several of them say, “She waved at me!” A teen girl says that she is afraid to go onstage with a singer for a specific song.
► A man goes into a men’s restroom and we hear several toilets flush; a couple of men seem to be standing at urinals (no flesh or urine is shown). A teen girl seems sick and a man catches her when she collapses (she apparently had not eaten anything all day).

Trap LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 1 F-word, 1 scatological term, 1 mild anatomical term, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (dude, butcher, crazy, monster, organized offender, stupid, strange, insane, freak, cult, beast, wasted space, foolishness, you’re not OK), exclamations (next level, you never listen, come on, no dad jokes, bam, wow, jelly, crispy, yo extra fried, frickin’, rat me out, kinda dope), 1 religious profanity (GD), 21 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God). | profanity glossary |

Trap SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman uses an inhaler (the contents are not identified), and a piece of pie served to a man appears to have been drugged.

Trap DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Teen friendships, parenting, serial killing, OCD, forgiveness, abandonment, profilers.

Trap MESSAGE

 – Serial murderers can be pretty clever.