Identity (DVD)

Now and again, a film comes along which is completely genre defying, that it makes everyone sit up, take notice, and go white with shock over the twist. ‘Identity’ is, unfortunately, not one of those films. As we all know, what we want we don’t always get, otherwise I’d be a size 12 and married to Johnny Depp, and despite really wanting to be, ‘Identity’ is not a clever thriller. **What’s it all about then?** Ten strangers meet in a deserted hotel, in the middle of a never-ending rainstorm. As in all good thriller fodder, they come from a mixture of backgrounds; tart with a heart, an ex-cop, a ... more

This film is going to split people right down the middle. I can almost guarantee you’ll either love it or hate it depending almost solely on whether you buy into the twist at the start of the third act. You’ll either feel satisfied (even thrilled) by this metaphysical headf**k or totally disillusioned, betrayed, perhaps downright annoyed at its audacity. Edward (John Cusack) is having the worst day of his life, an ex cop making a living as a limo driver he is driving his actress employer to LA when a storm hits. Edward knocks down a woman stranded with her family after getting a flat tire ... more

"As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. I wish, I wish he'd go away." Through a bizarre combination of coincidence and fate ten strangers are united in a lonely motel, in the middle of a torrential rainstorm. None of them has ever met before, but each of them finds him or herself unwittingly stranded by the rising floodwater. They are:  A washed up actress, who is desperate to find new work and is being driven across country by her chauffeur (a former policeman). Their journey is brought abruptly to a halt when their car strikes: ... more

It is darkest night. There is a torrential rainstorm. Roads become flooded. Public phone lines are brought down. Cell phones cannot get signals. Ten strangers are forced to abandon their journeys and take refuge at a lonely motel run by a guy not shuffling a full deck. So far, so Hitchcock. The motel is next to an ancient Indian burial ground. It is spooky. So far, so Stephen King. One by one, the ten start to die – each hideously murdered by an unknown, unseen assailant. Unless they stick together, there will be nobody left. Fortunately, however, at least one of the ten is a cop. So far, so ... more

On the surface Identity appears to be of the old school thriller - ten strangers all converge on an isolated spot where they are picked off one by one. This is classic Agatha Christie's Ten Little Niggers, (or more politically correct And Then There Were None or not quite politically correct Ten Little Indians) which has been adapted many times for film. But that's where the similarity ends. The isolated location this time is a motel in the middle of nowhere, a storm raging outside which has blocked the roads and cut off all communication with the trapped people. Here we have the stock movie ... more