'The Trap' Review: A Psychological Thriller Built on Grief, Suspicion, and Revenge
By Romey Norton - October, 2026
Imagine isolating yourself inside your home for over a decade, and when you finally decide to step outside, you discover the person you believe destroyed your life might still be out there. That is the simple but intriguing premise behind The Trap, Netflix’s German psychological thriller, which promises a story of grief, obsession, and the dangerous consequences of seeking justice yourself.
The series original title is Die Falle, and it comes from the same team that gave us the brilliant Dear Child series. However, this series feels a little dragged with more red herrings than confident twists. Still, there's enough intrigue here to keep you invested, building to two strong episodes at the end.
Based on Melanie Raabe’s novel, the six-part series follows Lisa Konrad, played by Friederike Becht, a successful author who has spent almost ten years living as a recluse after witnessing the murder of her sister, Anna. When Lisa believes she recognises her sister’s killer on television, she decides to leave the safety of her home and use herself as bait to draw him out.
Lisa’s decision immediately raises questions about her judgement, her emotional state and how much she can genuinely know about the person she believes she has identified. Is she carefully planning her next move, or has grief left her vulnerable to making a terrible mistake? The uncertainty surrounding her decision could be one of the series’ strongest assets. We spend time as an audience trying to understand her, her motives, and what she wants to really wants to do with her life.
I am particularly drawn to the idea of a protagonist who has spent years avoiding the outside world but suddenly chooses to put herself directly in harm’s way. There is an obvious contradiction there, and it gives Lisa an interesting starting point. Her isolation is part of the mystery surrounding how she has processed her sister’s death and what she hopes to achieve by confronting the past. The revenge element also gives the story room to explore an uncomfortable question: when the justice someone wants has remained out of reach, how far should they go to obtain it?
Rather than relying solely on the identity of a killer, the series builds tension through Lisa’s decisions and the uncertainty of whether her carefully constructed plan will work. The most compelling psychological mysteries make us question not only what is happening, but whether we can trust the person guiding us through it. And these questions help The Trap distinguish itself from other more familiar crime thrillers.
Friederike Becht leads the cast as Lisa, while Hans Löw plays journalist Robert Lenzen. The supporting cast also includes Matthias Brandt, Miriam Ohlmeyer, Josephine Thiesen and Malaya Stern Takeda. Becht has a particularly demanding role, and she carries it with intrigue and grace. There’s a fine line between a genuinely complex protagonist and a character whose decisions become frustrating simply to keep the plot moving. Lisa’s plan needs to make emotional sense, even when it is reckless, and there are times where it feels overegged and unbelievable. Her character is one you will either like or dislike, and that’ll affect how you feel about the story as a whole. But Becht is compelling to watch, and carries the series well.
Whilst six episodes offer the time to explore Lisa’s history and motivations, they also create risk of stretching a central mystery beyond its natural length. Sometimes the pace can be a little slow, so those looking for more conflict and action might disengage, or lose track of where the story is going.
As this is a German series, I watched it with English voice-overs, which is distracting as I don’t believe the voices truly bring through the emotions of the characters; they sound monotone and bland. So subtitles might be the way to go.
Netflix has no shortage of crime and psychological thrillers, and The Trap makes an interesting addition to its catalogue. The Trap has the ingredients for an absorbing mystery: a grieving protagonist, a suspected killer, a dangerous plan and a past that refuses to stay buried. For viewers who enjoy psychological mysteries built around obsession, suspicion and the blurred line between justice and revenge, The Trap is a must-watch.
All six episodes of 'The Trap' are available to watch on Netflix.
Want more Netflix reviews? Dive into more reviews, rankings, and film conversations on our site.
Explore Film Focus Online now!
Romey Norton
Senior Writer
Romey is a senior writer for Film Focus Online, covering the latest film reviews, news, features and interviews, with a passion for all things cinema.
Want your film or TV show reviewed by Romey? Contact us.
