Trap is filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan's latest psychological thriller, which was released in the US by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 2, 2024. While Shyamalan is known for his mind-bending thrillers, this time, he seems to have been inspired by a true story.
Trap is inspired by a true story based on Operation Flagship conducted by the U.S. Marshal Service in 1985.
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The movie follows a firefighter, Cooper Abbott, who decides to take his teenage daughter to a concert after she scores good grades. However, he realizes that the concert is a ruse set up by the police to catch a serial killer, 'The Butcher,' when they reach the venue.
In a turn of events, it is revealed that Cooper is the serial killer whom the police want to catch, and he must find a way to escape.
More on the real-life Operation Flagship that inspired Trap in our story.
What is Operation Flagship that inspired Trap movie?
The U.S. Marshals Service conducted a sting operation in 1985 called Operation Flagship.
Under the operation, thousands of invitations were mailed to 3,000 known fugitives with outstanding warrants, informing them that they had won free tickets to the Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders) play against the Cincinnati Bengals, courtesy of a fictional flagship sports network.
This was done because these tickets were much sought after back in the day. Tobias Roche, a former Marshal associated with the program, informed-
''In 1985, there was a waiting list for season tickets for over 25 years''
The fugitives were asked to assemble at the Washington Convention Center for refreshments and a raffle to win a chance to win these tickets. The Center was equipped with almost 166 undercover officers, disguising as ushers, cheerleaders, and waiters, who were given a six-week training and three dress rehearsals.
Louie McKinney, the chief of Operations, disguised himself as the master of ceremonies and gave a presentation on the day's fake events. After he announced a big surprise in the end, an army of Special Operations Group stormed the room to make arrests.
Around 144 arrests were made under this Operation Flagship program.
Is Trap directly based on Operation Flagship?
While Shyamalan admits to being inspired by the operation's unconventional approach to arresting fugitives and has used the plot as a ruse in the movie, the rest of the details are fictional.
While the original program was designed to arrest fugitives, in Shyamaln's movie, the police intended this ruse to catch a serial killer named 'The Butcher', a fictional character.
Officer Roche also discussed Trap and how realistic it depicted Operation Flagship in an interview with British GQ. While the obvious difference between replacing the football match with the concert is apparent, he praised the director for showing the risk in their line of work.
“Safety was everything...You don’t want anybody hurt — not the police, not the people that you’re arresting. Our number one concern was that everybody go home safe that night.”
“We were worried that some of them would recognize each other from maybe being incarcerated together or being involved in criminal activities together,”
While the story of Trap seems to be inspired by the Operation, the movie did change some details for cinematic purposes.
Trap stars Josh Hartnett as Cooper Abbott, Ariel Donoghue as Riley Abbott, Saleka Night Shyamalan as Lady Raven, Alison Pill as Rachel Abbott, and Hayley Mills as Dr. Josephine Grant.
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