A violent storm. Bridges washed out.
Ten strangers stranded at an isolated motel.
It's the perfect setting for a murder or two or 10. Agatha Christie would be in her glory or at least in her element.
The creepy thriller Identity is a contemporary twist on Christie's classic whodunnit Ten Little Indians or Then There Were None, as it is also known.
Within hours of the arrival of the last guest, the first murder occurs and, not too long after, a second and third. It's around murder four that the guests admit what the audience has known all along.
Someone at the motel is slicing and dicing the other travellers.
There's no shortage of suspects.
Ed (John Cusack) is a limo driver whose client is a bitchy, fading movie star (Rebecca DeMornay). Before he was a chauffeur, Ed was a homicide cop who gave up his job because of blackouts.
Rhodes (Ray Liotta) is a cop who's transporting a prisoner (Jake Busey) between maximum-security prisons, or at least that's who Rhodes says he is.
Larry (John Hawkes) who runs the motel has more than secrets hidden in the walk-in freezer and newlyweds Ginny (Clea DuVall) and Lou (William Lee Scott) are so jumpy they seem to be afraid of their own shadows.
To make matters more chilling, and the stakes even higher, somewhere in a private conference room doctors, lawyers and politicians are debating the fate of a condemned serial killer.
Identity is a haunted house thriller with a surprise and a new twist behind every door. Some viewers might feel there are one too many twists or that the most shocking twist is revealed about 15 minutes too early.
What keeps Identity fun and intriguing to the final dying moments are the performances. Without exception, the actors aim for hyper-realism.
They're always one notch above reality, but even DeMornay keeps from soaring into complete caricature.
Director James Mangold almost turns the storm and the decrepit motel into characters. They certainly add to the tension and suspense.
Identity is a intriguing puzzle with so many unique pieces that the mystery is intact until everything is finally in place.
(This film is rated 18A)
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