Finished watching Identity on DVD just now. I was watching it so intently, it still gives me a slight headache from all the details and plot twists.The opening part of the story tells us that convicted murderer Malcolm Rivers (who is due to be executed the next day) is getting a retrial because defense believes some evidence (his diary) has been illegally repressed. So the judge, lawyers, and the death-row murderer are meeting up that stormy night.
Cut to 11 total strangers, who for one reason or another, found themselves stranded in a desolate Nevada motel, right in the middle of an Indian graveyard. A prostitute on her way to her orange farm. A family of three (Mom, Dad, and Kid) suffered a flat. A cop-turned-limo driver (with his actress-passenger) accidentally ran over the wife.
Another cop (actually a convict) transporting a convict (multiple homicide). A newly-wed couple from Las Vegas. And the hotel manager (who turns out to be an imposter). One by one, the 11 strangers die mysterious deaths. Everyone thought it was the convict who managed to escape, but later even he was killed, with the hotel manager's baseball bat shoved down his throat. They caught the hotel manager in possession of the dead actress' bulging wallet, so he's now the main suspect. They tied him up to a chair, but people are still dying like flies. With each death, they would find a room key on the victim. The room keys are actually in sequence, counting down 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, ..... And it gets worse, suddenly the bodies of the dead vanished without a trace, as if the murders never happened. They knew there had to be a connection somewhere. They later figured out they all had the same birthdate. Even more amazing is that their names are names of places and states.
Cut back to the judge and lawyer. The convict was wheeled into the room, and we see that he's not the convict being transported by the cop stranded in Nevada. What's going on?! MAJOR SPOILER ALERT! Read on at your own risk.Three words: multiple personality disorder. Malcolm Rivers had a traumatic childhood - neglected and abused by his prostitute-mother, and this left him with 11 distinct personalities. His doctor argues that when the murders were committed, it was not Malcolm, but one of the personalities. His diary shows different handwriting and different viewpoints, which proves his case. Through therapy, all 11 personalities are coming to terms with one another, and that's why they're all in that Nevada motel. The doctor seem to be saying that the murders (the imaginary ones in Nevada,
not the real ones) are actually a good thing. Once everyone has been eliminated (read: killed), the remaining one becomes Malcolm's only personality, and he becomes sane again.Well and good. There's more killings in his head, and we are left with the prostitute who wants to become an orange farmer. Malcolm Rivers' execution was stayed by the judge, duly impressed by the movie plot. On his way to the mental hospital with his doctor, he thinks happy thoughts of orange harvests. While he (I mean the girl) was digging up the soil, she finds a room key from the Nevada motel with the number one. She starts trembling involuntarily.
She looks behind her. It's the Kid from Hell. He didn't die from the car explosion. He was the one who did everybody in. And he was brandishing a nasty three-prong rake. And then there were none. Bye bye, doctor.This movie is highly-recommended for lovers of suspense-thrillers and whodunits. The pacing is quick. Lots of clever shots, a few clues and hints here and there, an imaginative plot, great acting all around. I'm just peeved that I didn't figure out who the real murderer is. My bet was on the fake cop. When the cop-turned limo driver shot him, I thought that was it, and everyone will live happily ever after. Who knew the Kid from Hell would come back and continue the killings? Well, I guess that paves the way for Identity 2 (a.k.a Me, Too).
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