BTL Radio Show – 11/10/2025 with SHANE DAX TAYLOR talking EXIT PROTOCOL and MICHAEL DOWSE talking TRAP HOUSE

This week on BEHIND THE LENS, it’s all about action thanks to director SHANE DAX TAYLOR and his new film, EXIT PROTOCOL, and director MICHAEL DOWSE and his latest film, TRAP HOUSE.

First up, let’s take a look at TRAP HOUSE and my exclusive interview with director MICHAEL DOWSE. I first met and interviewed Michael some 14 years ago for “Take Me Home Tonight” and the terrific hockey movie “Goon”. Since then, Michael has given us some great work on television and film with episodic series like “Fubar: Age of Computer” and “The Sticky”, along with the big screen “8-Bit Christmas”, and “Stuber”, which stars Dave Bautista.

Well, Michael is back, along with Dave Bautista, for TRAP HOUSE. And I have to say, this is a fun multi-generational action film that boasts outstanding action set pieces, some superb cinematography thanks to Matt Flannery, who shot “The Raid” franchise with director Gareth Evans, and a lightness of touch and visual tone that is really enjoyable and entertaining.

TRAP HOUSE is set in El Paso, Texas, at the border where DEA Agent Ray Seale and his team infiltrate a drug trafficking operation run by notorious cartel boss ‘Guzman’. But things go wrong, and one of his team is shot and killed. In the aftermath, the slain agent’s son, Jesse, is devastated and struggles financially, having to move back to Spain with his mom. Ray’s own son, Cody feels sorry for Jesse and bands together a group of other DEA kids to utilize their skills and access to resources to enact revenge, stealing money from trap houses operated by the Guzman family.

As the teenage ring of thieves goes for riskier targets, the DEA and the cartel close in. Cody quickly realizes he’s entered them all into a deadly game, and when Ray Seale finds out the truth, he must desperately protect his son from the increasing danger that has resulted from their heists.

Directed by Michael Dowse and written by Gary Scott Thompson and Tom O’Connor, TRAP HOUSE stars Dave Bautista and Bobby Cannavale as DEA agents Ray Seals and Andre Washburn, Jack Champion as Ray’s son Cody, and Sophia Lillis, Whitney Peak, Zaire Adams, and Blu del Barrio as Cody’s friends Deni, Sophia, Kyle, and Jesse. Plus, Inde Navarette and Kate del Castillo.

As Michael and I dig into the making of TRAP HOUSE, Michael highlights its blend of action, comedy, and drama. Notable for Michael is the script’s detailed action set pieces and the emotional depth of Cody and Ray’s relationship, which was all on the page from the start. As you’ll hear Michael discuss, visual storytelling is crucial, especially in a film like this, and he makes the most of it through his collaboration with cinematographer Matt Flannery, who implements night vision, gas masks, and a dust storm, as well as capturing dynamic action sequences. Calling on editor Tim Porter, whose work you know from “Game of Thrones”, “Andor”, “House of the Dragon” and “The Family Plan”, Michael talks about the “challenging but effective” editing process. An interesting element of TRAP HOUSE is the film’s score, composed by Jack Latham and Amanda Yamate, which balances the high-energy action with emotional depth. Interesting for you filmmakers out there, Michael discusses learning the importance of working with a robust second unit.  Of course, we also discuss his cast and performance as well.

TRAP HOUSE releases in theatres nationwide on November 14th.

Now let’s keep the action going with director SHANE DAX TAYLOR and his new film, EXIT PROTOCOL. I love this film. I had so much fun watching the film with a terrific blend of action, emotion, humor, and performances from some of my favorite actors, ike Dolph Lundgren, Michael Jai White, Charlotte Kirk, and Scott Martin. And the story itself is great!

A simple tale of assassins, aka hitmen. A notorious hitman, Sam Hayden, who made a career of killing other assassins, wants out. But walking away is not that easy. He’s got one last job to do, and that is to take out his rival Charles Mangold. Unfortunately, Hayden gets double-crossed by his boss, who has hits out on Mangold AND Hayden. Now marked for death, Hayden unexpectedly finds himself partnering with Mangold to outrun his boss and the third hitman in the mix.

Directed by Shane Dax Taylor and written by Chad Law, EXIT PROTOCOL stars Scott Martin, Dolph Lundgren, Charlotte Kirk, Lina Maya, Stephanie Beran, and Michael Jai White.

This exclusive interview with Shane is definitely one that I will always cherish and one that I am so glad was not on video or you all would have seen me blushing and getting teary-eyed. Not only is Shane articulate, thoughtful, and knowledgeable in his craft, but he also opened our interview by telling me what a fan he is of Behind The Lens and that he has been a listener for years! It means so much to me that my listeners, especially filmmakers, are fans of the show and my interviews. And it humbles me when I get to speak with those who are.   As Shane mentions, many of his filmmaker friends have been guests on the show or been interviewed by me at some point over the years. Well, Shane, now it’s your turn!

An interesting and enlightening conversation, I can honestly say that in my 44+ years as a film critic and the almost 12 years of doing this weekly show, Shane is a first for me, as he talked in depth about the challenges of stepping in as director after the original director passed away. How does one even handle that? Jake talks about how he did it, a big part of which was his crew with whom he had worked previously; cinematographer Mark Rutledge, who recently directed the fantastic action flick “Osiris” and whom Shane worked with on “The Christmas Classic” and “Masquerade”, editor Jake Buchheit who he worked with on “The Christmas Classic” and “The Best Man”, and even Dolph Lundgren and Scott Martin who he worked with on “The Best Man.” Another big part of Shane’s directing EXIT PROTOCOL is his long-standing relationship with writer Chad Law and the evolution of Chad’s writing style as it translates to visuals.

Diving into the production aspects, such as developing the visual grammar with Mark Rutledge and focusing on a light and bright tone, and the importance of showing the beauty of the world and allowing actors to shine, a big challenge with filming was wildfires during the shoot which affected camera angles and placement, as well as last minute evacuations from a fire zone, and in addition to wildfires, how about the flooding that came after that which wiped away the principle cabin used in filming?  All of this gave Shane some solid lessons in adaptability and the importance of having trust in your team. An interesting component of EXIT PROTOCOL is composer Yagmur Kaplan. I’m very familiar with his work thanks to films like “Cashout”, “High Rollers”, “Alarum”, and “Deadlock”, but the tone of EXIT PROTOCOL, which provides lots of playful humor thanks to Martin, Lundgren, and White, is different than much of Kaplan’s prior works. Here, Kaplan provides some wonderful emotional depth while maintaining action energy, and he had a few welcome surprises in store for Shane with sound editing. And speaking of editing, Shane talks about working with his editor Jake Buchheit, and the importance of pacing and balancing action with quieter moments, but letting the subtle humor shine through.

EXIT PROTOCOL is currently in theatres and available on digital and On Demand.

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