Operation Flagship: The True Story That Inspired ‘Trap’ (2024)
Shyamalan pitched ‘Trap’ as: “What if The Silence Of The Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?”
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Trap is a somewhat silly (but enjoyable!) psychological thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The premise is that a serial killer known as “The Butcher” (played by Scream King Josh Hartnett) takes his daughter to a pop concert only to discover that he has fallen into a trap set by an FBI profiler. There is a massive police presence at the concert and no one who meets the profile can leave without being interviewed. As the killer has an identifiable tattoo, he becomes desperate to escape. Released on August 2, Trap opened at #2 at the box office, clearing $17 million for its opening weekend.
Part of Trap‘s more obvious origin story is that M. Night conceived of the film as a way to give his daughter, singer-songwriter Saleka Shyamalan, a concert movie to showcase her talent. Inspired by the album Prince wrote for Purple Rain (1984), Trap has a companion album by Saleka. However, there is a much darker inspiration for the film that M. Night shared with Empire magazine.
In 1985 a sting operation called Operation Flagship was organized to lure fugitives to a fake Washington Redskins football game at the Washington Convention Center. The operation was designed by the United States Marshals Service, who sent invitations to 3,000 fugitives using their last known address. While police could have just shown up at these addresses, that situation is more likely to result in standoffs and casualties than arresting fugitives away from their homes (and in a situation in which they are unlikely to be armed). The group arrest was also significantly less expensive than the typical cost for the Marshal Service to apprehend a fugitive.
The invitations promised recipients coveted tickets to a football game as well as to a pre-game brunch where they might also win Redskins season tickets or a free trip to that year’s Super Bowl. As fugitives arrived at the Convention Center, they were greeted by undercover marshals and police officers, separated into smaller groups and then arrested. Undercover female marshals and officers dressed as cheerleaders were even able to covertly frisk the fugitives beforehand. A total of 101 fugitives were captured by the operation.
To read more about the real life inspiration behind dozens of horror movies, check out our full Scary Movies Based on True Stories list.
Further reading:
- M. Night Shyamalan Movies: The Rouge Auteur
- Josh Hartnett Horror + Thriller Movies, Ranked
- 77+ Scary Movies Based on True Stories
