This review may contain spoilers.
"You're a complicated cat, Edward."
The varying walks of life of an ensemble cast converge at an ill-fated motel, periodically interrupted by a mysterious murder trial. Identity spends its runtime bathed in smothering rainy chiaroscuro and throwing setups and plot twists at its watcher, sometimes within five minutes of each other. Combine that with a jaded ex-cop clad in a leather duster, with a tragic backstory explaining his unflinching resolve not to get any blood on his hands, and the film successfully conceals its slasher premise behind a neo-noir thriller. Going into this movie blind (after I'd been recommended it by my stepdad) didn't necessarily leave me unequipped for the film's eventual "big" twist, but I'm not sure if that's because the film's bleak atmosphere managed to subliminally tell me that something was terribly wrong, or because Identity's twist been done so much in media. Maybe it was the generic title that could fit right in with Shyamalan's filmography. After its big twist, the movie spends the rest of its runtime slinging more and more plot twists at your face, and these range from stale to chuckle-worthy. Still, the tenser moments had my balls in my throat, and the final girl is a dead ringer for Claire Redfield, so I had a fun time.
This review may contain spoilers.
"You're a complicated cat, Edward."
The varying walks of life of an ensemble cast converge at an ill-fated motel, periodically interrupted by a mysterious murder trial. Identity spends its runtime bathed in smothering rainy chiaroscuro and throwing setups and plot twists at its watcher, sometimes within five minutes of each other. Combine that with a jaded ex-cop clad in a leather duster, with a tragic backstory explaining his unflinching resolve not to get any blood on his hands, and the film successfully conceals its slasher premise behind a neo-noir thriller. Going into this movie blind (after I'd been recommended it by my stepdad) didn't necessarily leave me unequipped for the film's eventual "big" twist, but I'm not sure if that's because the film's bleak atmosphere managed to subliminally tell me that something was terribly wrong, or because Identity's twist been done so much in media. Maybe it was the generic title that could fit right in with Shyamalan's filmography. After its big twist, the movie spends the rest of its runtime slinging more and more plot twists at your face, and these range from stale to chuckle-worthy. Still, the tenser moments had my balls in my throat, and the final girl is a dead ringer for Claire Redfield, so I had a fun time.
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