After watching Identity I sat, stunned, in my seat letting the film I had just seen work its way through my consciousness. I couldn't believe it. I was amazed. Not at the ending, great as it was. Not at the acting, good as it was. Nope. I was amazed that this movie was written by the same guy that wrote Jack Frost, the movie about the killer snowman (- not to be confused with the Michael Keaton movie, which was equally bad, but not as violent).

The movie begins with various strangers getting stranded in a storm at a near deserted motel. They arrive in small groups, and as they try to make sense of what to do next, things start to get worse as the strangers start getting picked off one at a time, in true slasher movie fashion.

The movie stars such notables as John Cusack as Ed, a former cop and currently a Limo Driver and Ray Liotta as Rhodes, a cop who is transporting a criminal to Carson City and may or may not be who he appears to be. Rebecca DeMornay is the spoiled actress that Ed was chauffering, and Amanda Peet is Paris, a prostitute who wants to change her ways. And as people keep dying, there are no clear clues as to who's behind the killings. And it stays that way.

The film also cuts back and forth to a midnight hearing of a convicted serial killer (Pruitt Taylor Vince) where new evidence has come forth. We know the two stories will collide and we begin to wonder how the two will become connected, especially as the events at the motel begin to become more and more surreal and intense.

In a day and age where every thriller feels the need to have a jaw dropping, "...never saw that coming!" ending, Identity goes above and beyond and give us two big twists, one of which shatters everything we saw before to pieces.

I'm also becoming a bit of a fan of director James Mangold, who gives the film a nice visual flair without excessive style. He tells the story well in a solid way without excessive camera movements and quick cuts that seem to be becoming the norm lately. As I admired his previous Kate & Leopold as being an above average romantic fantasy, I like how he was able to so completely change gears and tackle such a complex thriller and manage the tension so well.

Overall, Identity fits the bill if you're in the mood for an intense thriller that will keep you guessing throughout. I certainly was.