What can you say about ‘Identity’? Love it or hate it, this movie had a level of originality and sheer fun that most movies can’t even dream of having. With the inordinate amount of lackluster movies coming out, ‘Identity’ is a breath of fresh air. Just the thought of ‘Glitter’ or ‘Swept Away’ makes this movie even that much better.

And no, this movie is not about a murderer run rampant, killing fairly innocent bystanders. Although 3/4 of the movie involves that exact description, ‘Identity’ is in a different league of its own.
Several folks show up at a desolate roadside motel on a stormy night. The manager is a slight, grungy, nervous guy. One by one, customers are murdered. Reminds you of the classic movie, “Psycho”, but looks can be deceiving.

Gathering top-shelf performers such as John Cusack, Alfred Molina, John C. McGinley and Ray Liotta -- the sort of actors you don't normally round up for a slasher jamboree may have been an indication that “Identity” may be of a different breed.
" Identity" tells two parallel stories.

10 strangers are stranded at a motel after a brutal storm floods the highway in both directions: Cusack is a former cop turned limo driver. His client is a full-of-herself '80s TV star (Rebecca De Mornay). Liotta is a police officer transporting a dangerous convicted killer (Jake Busey). Amanda Peet is a call girl.
McGinley, Leila Kenzle and Bret Loehr play a husband and wife with a child. They're an average family caught up in crisis. And Clea DuVall and William Lee Scott are newlyweds.

Throughout the course of the "dark and stormy night" -- a cliche that has run its route WAY too many times-- the motel guests start dying. The dwindling number of survivors shift into panic gear, trying to figure out why they're targeted and what they might have in common, as opposed to just leaving the hotel.
In the second story -- of which we glimpse brief flashes during the first two-thirds of "Identity" -- a psychiatrist (Alfred Molina) tries to win a stay of execution for a convicted mass murderer (Pruitt Taylor Vince). The doctor argues that the murderer is insane.

How the two threads of "Identity" become entangled is the film's winning trick -- and obviously won't be revealed here.

Identity was one of those movies I knew instantly would be in the likes of “Memento”; a movie that basically messed with your mind, if you know what I mean. For an instant the movie seemed as if it would be a regular "whodunit" but took an unexpected twist. It’ll have you talking about it for hours. The acting was good, and the scares were even better. I strongly recommend seeing this movie, but not alone.