Trap forgets craft of storytelling and trips on twists
Estimated box office revenue: $23 – 40MM
3 mythological tales transform Trap into a compelling story
Trap, directed by Night Shyamalan is about a serial killer outsmarting his apprehenders with luck and chance rather than intelligence. The story explores basic human desires of power, sacrifice & idealism. Mythosis extracts the plot structure of the movie with 3 mythological tales to estimate and unlock its potential.
1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story
1A. 87% of the events are borrowed from 3 mythological tales
Cooper’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe & Cooper create a façade of godliness to dupe others.
Lady Raven’s quest is driven by the desire to sacrifice self for serving others and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Lady Raven help in finding the abductor.
Rachel has an underdeveloped quest driven by the desire to uphold justice and mirrors a few events from the tale of Prometheus from Greek mythology. Both Prometheus & Rachel turn idealistic and rebel against their own.
Grant, Riley & Jaime have non-existent quests.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones
Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.
We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.
Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. Take it a step further, by combining six tales the possibilities explode to an astounding 600 million!
The unique plot structure of Trap is # 298. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Circe & Hanuman.
2. Plot structure potential of Trap: $23 – 40 MM
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Trap
An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.
All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests.Trap uses 2 universal quests of Power and Honour.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Lady Raven mirrors the universal quest of Honour. Cooper mirrors the universal quest of Power.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Lady Raven borrows 10% from the quest of Honour. Cooper borrows 24% from the universal quest of Power.
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. The quest interweaving score of Trap is 0.33 and is below par. An example of interweaving the quests of Cooper & Lady Raven:
2B. Plot structure is the most important but least understood element of storytelling
Any plot structure that borrows events from at least 3 mythological tales has high resonance. In our own lives, each one of us identifies with at least one quest to fulfil a basic human desire. The more quests woven into a story, the wider its appeal.
The nature of mythological tales used, makes the plot structure fresh & unique.Besides, appealing to a larger audience size the interweaving of various human desires creates a unique and original story.
Interweaving mythological tales makes the plot structure cohesive. Stories become seamless when characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships.
Characters are consistent when they mirror a single mythological tale. Characters pursuing more than one quest appear confusing due to their divergent desires.
Borrowing 35% or more events from each mythological tale strengthens both the plot structure & character. The plot structure becomes flat when characters borrow less than the threshold. Each mythological tale has multiple twists & turns hence no forced injection is required. Characters become layered & complex when their journey is deep.
2C. Measuring the revenue potential of Trap
We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Trap has a script potential score is 0.02 and the movie will appeal to 0.64 – 0.78% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $23 – 40MM in the domestic market.
3.The ideal plot structure of Trap
We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.
We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.
3A. Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Cooper mirrors the universal quest for Power
Cooper’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal fulfilled quest for Power.
Quest 2: Lady Raven mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Lady Raven’s desire for Honour stems from the need to sacrifice self for clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
3B. Gaps in the current plot structure
All blockbusters interweave at least 3 mythological tales. Each tale is mirrored by a single character. Every character borrows 35%+ events from their respective tale. And the quests are interwoven with each other. Lastly, unlike Circe, Cooper’s quest is a result of chance rather than effort.
A redraft of the script is necessitated by the fact that Trap doesn’t adhere to any of the first principles of storytelling.
3C. Unlocking the hidden potential
The universal quests of Order, Power & Honour unlocks the hidden potential of Trap.
Even though Grant doesn’t have a quest in the story, she has a clear objective of apprehending a serial killer. The universal quest of Order is driven by the desire to maintain stability. The tale of Ram from Hindu mythology represents the universal quest of Order.
This quest has been mirrored by Clarice in Silence of the Lambs.
