SPOOKTOBER chapter 19:
A Horror with a Twist
Okay, it may not be classified as a horror movie by majority of the sources, but I've always considered "Identity" to be one, for it feels like one. And it's a great, fast-paced, atmospheric and engaging mystery thriller decorated with the many qualities of the horror genre.
It's 2003, and the well-known James Mangold ("Walk the Line", "Logan", "Ford V Ferrari" etc.) directs a script by the director and writer of... "Jack Frost"? Thankfully, Michael Cooney can write both goofy and dark horror films. In this one, we have ten strangers, who have travelled down the same remote Nevada desert road, encountered the same storm, the same floods, and have become stranded at the same shady roadside motel. Meanwhile a late night court meeting is taking place as a killer, being transported there at the time, is trying to appeal his brooding death sentence. As the strangers at the Motel become acquainted with each other, somebody is also beginning to kill them one by one. Who is the killer and what exactly is going on?
It's a terrific, entertaining who-dunnit taking place on a stormy, dark night, has flashes of violence, and plenty of creepy atmosphere lurking around the motel. The storytelling flows like a river, and it's all neatly packed in a pleasant 90 minute runtime. For a movie with a twist, honestly two of them, it is well structured and holds the good possibility of fooling the viewer.
What's even better, it's filled with awesome actors and cool performances - we have John Cusack, Ray Liotta, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Jake Busey, Pruitt Taylor Vince and more. Every character has a different shade of personality, and there's always something going on in "identity", making it a wholly engaging experience. Appropriately to who's involved, this mystery has a great production design, and an overall visceral aesthetic, from today's standpoint also possessing that palpable early 2000's cinematic horror culture feel.
If you haven't seen it, it's worth not looking it up but just going for it - if you like to not be able to predict the outcome of creepy and dark happenings, "Identity" got ya. My rating: 8/10.
Okay, it may not be classified as a horror movie by majority of the sources, but I've always considered "Identity" to be one, for it feels like one. And it's a great, fast-paced, atmospheric and engaging mystery thriller decorated with the many qualities of the horror genre.
It's 2003, and the well-known James Mangold ("Walk the Line", "Logan", "Ford V Ferrari" etc.) directs a script by the director and writer of... "Jack Frost"? Thankfully, Michael Cooney can write both goofy and dark horror films. In this one, we have ten strangers, who have travelled down the same remote Nevada desert road, encountered the same storm, the same floods, and have become stranded at the same shady roadside motel. Meanwhile a late night court meeting is taking place as a killer, being transported there at the time, is trying to appeal his brooding death sentence. As the strangers at the Motel become acquainted with each other, somebody is also beginning to kill them one by one. Who is the killer and what exactly is going on?
It's a terrific, entertaining who-dunnit taking place on a stormy, dark night, has flashes of violence, and plenty of creepy atmosphere lurking around the motel. The storytelling flows like a river, and it's all neatly packed in a pleasant 90 minute runtime. For a movie with a twist, honestly two of them, it is well structured and holds the good possibility of fooling the viewer.
What's even better, it's filled with awesome actors and cool performances - we have John Cusack, Ray Liotta, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Jake Busey, Pruitt Taylor Vince and more. Every character has a different shade of personality, and there's always something going on in "identity", making it a wholly engaging experience. Appropriately to who's involved, this mystery has a great production design, and an overall visceral aesthetic, from today's standpoint also possessing that palpable early 2000's cinematic horror culture feel.
If you haven't seen it, it's worth not looking it up but just going for it - if you like to not be able to predict the outcome of creepy and dark happenings, "Identity" got ya. My rating: 8/10.