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Identity |
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A remote motel in the Nevada desert
becomes a refuge for ten strangers when a
violent rainstorm washes out the roads. They
don't know it yet, but they share something
else in common—a link that will cause an
unseen killer to start eliminating them one by
one. Ed is a decent ex-cop who now drives the
limousine of whiny former TV star Caroline
Suzanne. Paris is a hooker who dreams of
starting fresh. Lou and Ginny are young
newlyweds already embroiled in relational
conflict. A visibly anxious
obsessive-compulsive named George York
comes unglued when his wife is hit by a car
and he, along with his young son, must find
help. Complicating matters further, officer
Rhodes shows up with a convicted murderer
in his custody. They each pick up a room key
from Larry the desk clerk. Those keys
(numbered 1 through 10) begin turning up in
descending order alongside people's
murdered remains, implying a mysterious
countdown that the surviving guests must
unravel if they don't want to be next.
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positive elements: Not much. When
Ed strikes a pedestrian with his limo, he
rejects Caroline's suggestion that they leave
the scene. Ed accepts responsibility without
hesitation and tends to the victim's needs.
Caroline is vilified for her rude arrogance and
selfishness. A psychiatrist works tirelessly to
help his patient avoid a death sentence.
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spiritual content: A red herring
suggests that the strange, otherworldly nature
of the murders may have something to do with
a burial ground called The Tribal Tombs.
Paris picks up a book called Being and
Nothingness, and Ed fatalistically refers to
a suicidal woman as being "part of the
doomed."
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sexual content: Larry is vocally
antagonistic toward Paris because of her
prostitution, and calls her a slut. Lou gives her
lustful glances, and Rhodes makes a subtle
come-on, which Paris deflects with a crass
remark. A flashback shows Paris on the job,
singing happy birthday to a half-dressed client
tied to bedposts S&M style. Lou and Ginny
were married in response to Ginny's
announcement that she was pregnant. In
audiotaped interviews, a mass murderer talks
about his prostitute mother.
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violent content: There are physical
threats, beatings and the destruction of
property (Ed uses a crowbar to bash in a car
window). Most of the killings aren't shown in
tremendous detail, but the aftereffects are
brutal and bloody. After a woman is attacked,
her head is discovered in a clothes dryer.
People are stabbed and shot to death, struck
violently by speeding vehicles, blown up in
explosions, strangled, suffocated and done in
with a gardening claw. One man has a
baseball bat rammed down his throat. A dead
body falls out of a freezer. Deaths are replayed
in a quick-cut montage when the film's final
twist is revealed. Ed describes how he once
watched a woman commit suicide. Two
scenes show off gruesome crime scene
photos.
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crude or profane language: Like
lightning strikes on a rainy night, harsh
language touches down with frequency. Of
greatest concern are the film's 14 s-words, 27
f-words and two-dozen abuses of the Lord's
name (including a number of "g--d---"s and 10
exclamations of Christ's name).
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drug and alcohol content: Paris
smokes a cigarette. Ed takes prescription
medication. Liquor makes a brief
appearance.
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other negative elements: Several
characters practice deception. Paris steals
from a client. Larry pilfers a dead woman's
purse.
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conclusion: Part slasher film and part
Twilight Zone episode, Identity is
a smartly constructed thriller full of twists and
turns with a finale as chillingly bizarre as that
of The Sixth Sense. This is
psychological horror for audiences insulted by
lazy movies—including today's self-referential
screamers—mired in genre clichés.
Identity earns style points for trying
something different and keeping viewers
off-balance with a wild payoff. But the overall
impact would have been even stronger had it
left more to the imagination (I couldn't help but
wonder how Alfred Hitchcock or M. Night
Shyamalan might have handled the material).
It could have been scary and suspenseful
without the downpour of violence, blood
and raw language. As it is, Identity
becomes just another John Doe horror flick
destined to remain unknown in many homes
because of its excesses.
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