As the current blockbuster era descends into mediocrity, moviegoers often complain about Hollywood’s allergy to original films. Thirty years agothe box office charts were full of new stories that balanced mainstream entertainment value with (at least in some cases) real artistic merit. Now those graphs are dominated by $200 million sequels and recycled franchise IP to the point where fresh ideas struggle to make their mark. M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap is an example of a textbook; the cheerfully entertaining thriller by a director at the top of his game was overshadowed by releases like Deadpool and Wolverine. If you missed it this summer, Trapthe arrival of Max is a welcome opportunity to right that wrong.

A warped interpretation of the cat and mouse genre, Trap It stars Josh Hartnett as Cooper, a loving father who lives a secret double life as a serial killer. Shyamalan’s approach to serial killer tropes is overtly drawn, giving Cooper an amusingly simple nickname (“The Butcher”) and motivations rooted in psycho– the era of the cliché. Given the PG-13 rating, the film avoids describing his crimes in detail. Instead, most of the action takes place at a pop concert, as Cooper accompanies his daughter Riley (Arial Donoghue) to see her idol Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan) amid a crowd of screaming teenage girls.

Of course, this is where the trap comes in. Law enforcement has received a tip that the Butcher will be attending the Lady Raven show, and as soon as Cooper and Riley walk through the arena doors, they are surrounded by a well-oiled machine. SWAT teams and FBI profilers, all working to identify which member of the public is a serial killer in disguise.

Like Cooper’s meticulously orchestrated double life, this whole concept is based on a heightened brand of Hollywood nonsense. It’s a fantasy in which law enforcement is filled with cunning investigators who command highly trained teams deployed at great expense to bring down a single criminal mastermind. Meanwhile, Cooper soon establishes himself as a charming anti-hero, oscillating between his goofy father persona and showing off his skill set as a relentlessly quick-thinking strategist.

Shyamalan has decades of experience crafting well-paced thrillers, quickly getting us invested in the stakes of Cooper, an objectively bad guy on the run from the FBI. Cooper’s problem solving has the same appeal as heist films Ocean’s Elevenwhile his relationship with his daughter gives us an emotional reason to support his success.

At the same time, Trap it’s often downright hilarious. Much of its humor hinges on Hartnett’s fantastic performance playing up the absurdity of Cooper’s situation. There’s an obvious element of dark comedy to him fighting for his life at an ersatz Taylor Swift concert, and for a few brief but memorable scenes, we get to see a disheveled Kid Cudi chewing up the scenery as Lady Raven’s histrionic pop star mentor.

This deft combination of tension, comedy and emotional weight is why Shyamalan has been a consistent commercial success for over 20 years, but that’s almost beyond the skills needed to land a film like Trap. Embracing the ridiculousness of its own premise, it never feels ironic or self-aware. Hartnett plays Cooper to the hilt, even in the moments that seem like lulls. And technically, Trap it is much more thoughtful than the usual contemporary blockbuster.

Shot by acclaimed cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (call me by your name, Challengers), Trap it’s full of bold visual choices that energize a deceptively static environment. Its most memorable image is probably the extreme close-ups of Hartnett’s face, which show Cooper’s eyes flickering between paternal affection, steely calculation and soulless fury. Then there are the clever little details, like Shyamalan’s framing of the scene. Emphasizing Lady Raven’s role as an untouchable celebrity, we are only allowed to see her from Cooper and Riley’s perspective in the audience.

Despite its mixed reception (a pitiful 52% average on Metacritic), Trap he will get his due in the end. That’s certainly been the case for several other Shyamalan films that opened to dubious reviews but have since been reassessed as critics have warmed to his brand of storytelling. Neither serious art film nor disposable franchise sludge, Trap it represents the middle ground that has been phased out of American cinema. It’s rubbish, but an original crowd-pleaser, made with genuine skill and respect for its audience. Shyamalan understands the appeal of an elaborate thriller with an implausibly competent guy, and he also believes that this story should be told brilliantly. If you choose to miss out on this winning formula, you’ll only have yourself to blame.