A genuine treat for old-school and new-school horror fans alike

Rating: 8/10 (15 August 2011)

Unquestionably one of the brightest lights on the spotty landscape of 21st Century horror, Identity fuses the best elements of modern macabre with strong nods to the classic slasher films of the genre's past, and enough tightly-executed twists to drive several films.
The plot is basically an updated riff on Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (it's even mentioned in the film), with 10 strangers steered by fate to converge at a desolate motel during a sinister storm. The torrential rain renders all outbound roads flooded and strands the group without cell phone reception or even radio contact. Naturally, these marooned guests start being killed off one by one, and as the dwindling survivors struggle to identify the murderer in their midst, they gradually discover that they may have more in common than they suspect, and something far more malevolent than simple coincidence may be responsible for their common plight.
If done right, this basic storyline would be more than enough meat to shape an entertaining thriller, but Identity isn't content to settle for being a straight-forward whodunnit. Here, discovering who the victims are is just as crucial as outing the killer, and even after the grand design of the murders has been revealed, the film rolls out one final swerve that turns what we though we knew upside down and concludes the tale on a grim, ghoulish note.
I won't spoil any of the myriad twists for you here, but part of what makes Identity such a well-crafted creation is how well is stands up to repeated viewings once you know how the whole thing turns out. The skillful placement of the jigsaw pieces makes this a fun puzzle to assemble even after you've seen the completed picture, and supplementary visits to this morbid motel reveal the intricacies of the broader mystery.
Of course, the excellent cast is key to the experience. Playing directly against type, John Cusack proves to be a fantastic lead for a thriller, and the novel placement of Cusack in a horror film is enough on its own to warrant a look at Identity. Ray Liotta is pretty much great in every movie he turns up in, and Amanda Peet essays a strong heroine who continues the refreshing tradition of resourceful female characters which have become a dependable genre presence since Scream mocked and shattered the hysterical "chicks in peril" archetypes of horror's past. The ensemble is rounded out by a slew of solid character actors, whose battling personalities ratchet up the tension within the claustrophobic locale.
Though a couple of the murders are clearly telegraphed, the majority of the deaths in Identity arrive in surprising ways, and the unpredictability factor lends the film an aura of meticulously chiseled dread and suspense. Admittedly, it's not hard to figure out who's going to be around for the climax, but since the film holds one more turn up its sleeve at that point, even the fairly standard resolution ends up being a set up for something bigger.
There's plenty of gore to please fans of old school splatter, as well a few sturdy scares, so since this is ultimately just a thoughtful update of the standard stalk-and-slash formula, we end up being grateful to the film-makers for not settling for a purely mainstream thriller at the expense of sacrificing the pure horror elements.
Despite the renaissance the horror genre has enjoyed in the new century, very few genuine classics have emerged from the pack, and for those of us weaned on the iconic films of the '70s and '80s, the bulk of the contemporary fright flicks have been hollow imitators (and, increasingly, blasphemous "re-imaginings") of those legendary offerings. Identity balances the best of both schools, managing to be both familiar and original at once, and this terse, unrelenting exercise in bare bones horror is an enthralling and enjoyable ride. Highly recommended.