Naman Shrestha
Under the direction of M. Night Shyamalan (‘The Sixth Sense,’ ‘The Visit,’ and ‘Unbreakable‘), ‘Trap’ is a psychological thriller movie that revolves around a concert by Lady Raven and two of her fans, Cooper and his daughter Riley, among a thousand others who attend the concert. As the audience delves in and immerses themselves in the show, Cooper realizes that the concert is just a front to trap a dangerous serial killer, The Butcher.
Upon this revelation, he begins to notice that the concert consists of more police officers than usual, police vehicles all around the Tanaka Arena, and rigged security cameras. What promised to be a fun night turns into something sinister as there is a serial killer among the concert-goers. Led by the compelling performance of Josh Hartnett, the suspenseful film features several other talented actors in supporting roles, such as Ariel Donoghue, Hayley Mills, and Alison Pill. Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka Night Shyamalan, also stars in the movie. With the fictional Philadelphia concert venue serving as an additional character, questions about the thriller’s actual locations are bound to be raised.
Trap Filming Locations
Initially, shooting was supposed to begin in August 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio, but the production relocated to different parts of Ontario, including Hamilton, Toronto, Mississauga, and Milton. After a couple of months of delay, principal photography for the thriller got underway in October 2023 under the working title ‘Good Grades’ and wrapped up after two months in December of the same year. Despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, the filming was allowed to continue under an interim agreement.
Hamilton, Ontario
A major chunk of ‘Trap,’ mostly interior sequences, was lensed in the city of Hamilton. The FirstOntario Centre at 101 York Boulevard was turned into a film set and doubled for the fictional Tanaka Arena, where most of the action unfolds. The filming unit got access to the 19,000-seat arena for a couple of months due to the ongoing renovations. During the shooting, thousands of extras were hired but not told about the plot of the film. In order to help the extras sing along to Saleka’s music, they were provided with the songs beforehand, which were performed on stage like an actual concert.
The filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan, talked about the process with Movie Fone. He stated, “The concert stuff was incredible because I learned a different type of storytelling in that. Giving so much love to the element that’s behind the story is really rewarding and it really enriches everything and has ramifications that you foresee. Like say, for example, the way we spent so much time on making this a real concert, the lighting, the movement and the way the audience is reacting and cheering around Josh. Or the light on his face, all that stuff, or his reaction or all the extras and the way they’re dazzled by what they’re watching because it’s a real concert, those all come to play out and is very similar to what you’re watching.”
The director’s goal was to do something that others could not replicate or repeat. He also admitted that he and his team could not do it again in the same way because “that’s impossible.” The extras also played a vital part in making the concert look authentic. Josh Hartnett, who portrays Cooper, revealed that they became genuine fans of the music. Their enthusiasm kept building over the course of the production, and the energy between the performer and the audience was evidently active throughout the shoot, which was one of the difficult things to pull off.
Toronto, Ontario
The production team of ‘Trap’ utilized the exteriors of Rogers Centre at 1 Blue Jays Way in Toronto to portray the exterior of the fictional Tanaka Arena. While in Toronto, they also recorded other outdoor portions in different neighborhoods and streets of the city. For instance, Philadelphia road signs were put up on the Gardiner Expressway and other thoroughfares such as Simcoe and Bremner. Furthermore, the cast and crew members were also spotted taping key scenes in and around the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto and the York University subway station at 120 Ian MacDonald Boulevard in North York. Reports suggest that the exteriors of Scotiabank Arena at 40 Bay Street were also utilized.
Other Locations in Ontario
For shooting purposes, the director and his team also traveled to a few other sites in Ontario, including the city of Mississauga. According to reports, a few pivotal sequences for the M. Night Shyamalan directorial were also shot in the town of Milton, which is situated in Southern Ontario. In particular, the Main Street in downtown Milton was turned into a film set while the cast and crew lensed important scenes for the movie.
Read More: The Visit: Where Was M. Night Shyamalan’s Horror Movie Shot?
