Entertaining modern slasher

Rating: 9/10 (10 October 2008)

"Identity" is a much better mystery/slasher than expected.
**SPOILERS**
During a torrential rainstorm, Ed Dakota, (John Cusack) manages to bring George York, (John C. McGinley) and his son Timmy, (Bret Loehr) to Larry's, (John Hawkes) motel in the middle of nowhere to help them seek shelter after a hit-and-run accident. Realizing that Paris, (Amanda Peet) Rhodes, (Ray Liotta) Ginny, (Clea DuVall) Lou, (William Lee Scott) and Caroline Suzanne, (Rebecca De Mornay) are all trapped at the motel as well because of the storm, all the normal ways of escape prove futile and decide to ride out the storm. Suddenly realizing that they're being killed off one-by-one in a series of gruesome murders, they suspect everyone has a motive for the killings, and as their numbers dwindle, they race to solve the killings and get away from the hotel alive.
The Good News: This was a lot better than expected, and delivered a lot of good parts. One of the better parts is the fact that this one has a really great atmosphere that makes it really feel really great. The torrential rainstorm going on the background is mostly responsible for this, and the way it works is rather intriguing. By having the characters constantly going into and out of it and appearing completely drenched in the rain, and combined with the way that the mystery plays out is perfect at keeping the suspense up. The setting of the film, where they're at in the motel and the way it's lined out, it allows for a bunch of suspense and tension, and with the way the film allows the killer to be revealed, manage to make the film feel really tense and suspenseful. The way that it does work around the mystery of the killer angle is perhaps the best part of the whole film, as it's what makes the whole thing come together. By enabling every single one of them the opportunity to be tagged as the killer, it puts all of the film's focus into the clever tricks to do this. The gag about the names, birth-dates and the room-key version is all done rather nicely and all of these are apart of what helps the film along with it's impressive way of bringing along the suspense in the film. There's also the way it reveals the killer, which is one of the single most shocking ones in the genre, being one that's never expected nor feeling like it's there merely for the sake of a twist. It's nicely shocking and actually works, using the montage to great effect and coming up with some nice scenes. The last thing here is that the kills aren't so bad, and actually work nicely within the film, being unique enough that they're an overall nice collection which is really good to see. There's a baseball bat rammed down the throat, a couple are run over by cars, one of whom is rammed into a wall, there's a vicious stabbing in the stomach, a nice decapitation and a multitude of gunshots, among others in here. It's a healthy enough collection to make a really nice selection of kills here. All of these here are the film's good points.
The Bad News: There wasn't too much really wrong with this one. The main flaw to this is the way that the film seems to plod along with it's pacing. Although it never once feels dull or boring, there's no real surge of adrenaline running through the scenes in here to really make it exciting or over-the-top, and while this keeps moving along nicely, none of these are really all that engaging and that means things just happen here, not the proper kind of reaction needed for a film like this. The other flaw to this one is the fact that most of the film's kills are off-screen, meaning that the kills are all reduced to mere splashes or aftermath, and the ones that are shown on-screen aren't all that graphic, making the aftermath the one part here that gets the blood over. These here are all the film's flaws.
The Final Verdict: There was a lot better stuff in here than expected, making this one enjoyable and highly recommended. Look into this one if you're a fan of the genre, love your slashers with mystery or fans of the creative side, while those who aren't that into any of those should heed caution with it.
Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language