He sh*ts the bed about as often as not, but I like the way that M. Night Shyamalan swings for the fences.

His latest would-be twisty thriller is Trap, starring a welcome Josh Hartnett, whose been building a low-key comeback the past few years, and it’s good to see him get top billing, even if this is only middling Shyamalan fare.

Hartnett is a super dad, not only taking his daughter to see the big musical act, Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan), but getting floor seats, too! But as Dad and daughter stand and groove, he can’t help scanning all the exits and extra police activity. The cops are everywhere.

Why? Well, we learn, the notorious serial killer known as The Butcher is rumored in law enforcement circles to be in the building for this concert. But how will they find him among thousands of concert-goers?

It is revealed in the trailer and early on in the film that Hartnett is, in fact, The Butcher, and he spends the next hour trying to avoid the police and blend in while also checking in frequently on his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) who is enamored by the pop star’s performance.

Shyamalan doesn’t even pretend to be ashamed of all the unrealistic coincidences that allow Hartnett to stay hidden in plain sight, conveniently finding a police walkie-talkie, conveniently getting backstage passes, and the list goes on and on.

And here we go, into the final act, where twists are revealed and we decide as an audience whether to sigh in exasperation or gleefully grin at how the plot is tied up. Honestly, so many things are thrown against the wall that I can honestly say that a few things did stick, while others fell to the floor.

Yes, I give credit for going big. To continue the baseball analogy: the guys with the most home runs are usually the ones with the most strike outs, too. Here, Trap goes for a bloop single down the line and succeeds on just that level.

Trap | Rated PG-13 | In Theaters Now | 2 ½ out of 4 Stars