Near Perfect Psychological Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2010)

Identity has been compared to many films like Fight Club, Saw and even Sixth Sense because of the twist-ending. But that's where the similarities end.
Identity is a psychological thriller and by my understanding of the genre, such movies engage the audience by having them intelligently guess who the villain is while distracting them with several twists in the plot. And Identity does that brilliantly.
The story is written in your typical 'whodunnit' fashion. A bunch of strangers from different places, leading different lives, get stranded in a motel for the night, no thanks to the convenient timing of torrential downpour. Predictably they get murdered one by one in gruesome manner until the killer is finally found and stopped. Or so you think.
Identity is a movie that plays heavily on character development, which to me is something that lacks in modern thrillers. The well-timed flashbacks satisfy the audience's need to know how the strangers ended up in the same place at the same time and the dialog between characters build chemistry. The cast do a great job of keeping the tension by balancing sympathy and suspicion.
The movie's twist at the end is fitting. After taunting you for so long the twist is near perfect for those who like their movies with a reasonable explanation of events. All the movie's clichÃ©s are immediately forgiven and forgotten.
Identity may not be an all-time classic but it doesn't deserve the negative remarks from some reviewers. It is a well-thought out movie that pays attention to detail and makes a sincere effort to end the film as a realistically as possible.
Identity is NOT a horror movie as some seem to think although the movie does fool audience into thinking there is some sort of supernatural force at work in the beginning.
Saying too much in a review may just give away the numerous twists in the movie so I urge you to just watch it. Give it a try and you may thank yourself for not missing out on one the genre's best.
I would recommend this movie to those who enjoyed Seven and The Prestige.