Warning: SPOILERS for Smile 2 and Trap
Smile 2 and Trap have one strange thing in common. M. Night Shyamalan directed Traphis latest psychological thriller starring Josh Hartnett, which was released in theaters on August 2, 2024. TrapThe box office gross of US$82 million is comparable to Smile 2′andwhich was directed by Parker Finn and released on October 18, 2024. A successful 2024 horror film that is still grossing the box office, Smile 2 is a breakout role for Naomi Scott as a pop star haunted by the entity Smile.
Both Smile 2 and Trap centers on pop stars performing a fateful concert. In Smile 2, Naomi Scott’s Skye Riley is recovering from a car accident that killed her boyfriend, and her attempted comeback is literally cursed by the entity Smile, leading to her psychological breakdown. Trap co-stars M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka Night Shyamalan, who plays Lady Raven, a pop star who puts on a show specifically to catch a serial killer known as Butcher, the secret identity of firefighter Cooper Abbott (Josh Hartnett).
Smile 2 and Trap have pop stars who are strangely left alone
Where are Skye Riley and Lady Raven’s entourages?
The curious phenomenon Smile 2 share with Trap and that the film’s two pop stars spend a curious amount of time alone, which allows the plot twists of their respective stories to happen. In Smile 2, World-famous singer Skye Riley lives alone in a Manhattan high-rise and is regularly left isolated backstage. Even though Skye has an overbearing mother/manager named Elizabeth (Rosemarie DeWitt), and Skye is a recovering drug addict with an infamous self-destructive streak, the young pop star finds herself regularly isolated rather than having an entourage around specifically to hang out with. by eye. in her. This makes Skye easy prey for the Smile entity.
TrapLady Raven is also strangely abandoned by her entourage in the second half of the film. During Lady Raven’s show, she is duly surrounded by trainers, managers and security guards. Even so, Cooper is able to isolate Raven in a dressing room to reveal that he is the Butcher, and Lady Raven’s people allow her to leave alone with Cooper and her daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue). Later, Lady Raven’s limo driver not only lets her into the Cooper house unaccompanied, but also allows Cooper to take the wheel of the limo to kidnap her. It’s bizarre that Lady Raven’s team doesn’t keep an eye on their employer at all times.
Smile 2 and Trap’s pop stars have very different endings
Lady Raven does not share Skye Riley’s fate
M. Night Shyamalan Trap ends very differently for Lady Raven than Smile 2 does for Skye Riley. Although Skye attempts to fight the Smile entity and free herself from its curse, she is ultimately consumed by the control it has over her. When Skye finally performs her show, she is victimized by the entity Smile for the last time, and the demon forces Skye to commit suicide in front of thousands of fansand. According to SmileAccording to the rules, the Smile entity can infect anyone who witnesses Smile’s death. Thus, the Smile entity instantly curses an arena full of Skye Riley’s devotees.
Skye Riley can’t be the hero of her own story Smile 2but Lady Raven emerges as a heroine in Trap. Lady Raven successfully defeats Cooper Abbott and uses his social media followers to find and rescue Cooper’s victim, Spencer (Mark Bacolcol). Lady Raven also manages to free herself from Cooper and escape from him, ensuring that she does not become his latest victim. Thanks to Lady Raven, the FBI finally arrests Cooper. Smile 2 and Trap may be about pop stars often sidelined, but Lady Raven succeeds while Skye Riley is tragically doomed.