*** Official "IDENTITY" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Tim Glover]

I just gave this film one star out of four in the Review thread. In this kind of movie, the filmakers take a chance on the gag. And it either works or it doesn't. For me it was just a big downer. There were some good moments and Cusack was very good as usual. But it falls apart and when it does, does so in a way that quickly pisses you off.

 

[Doug R]

I can't believe someone said Identity is a better slasher film then Kubrick's The Shining.

I am sad.

 

[David Lawson]

On the bright side, at least no one has said that Darkness Falls is better than The Shining.

Yet.

 

[Arman]

"I can't believe someone said Identity is a better slasher film then Kubrick's The Shining.

I am sad."

I am not bothered at all and will never be even if I will be the only person in the world who would say that with convictions.

Seriously, you just have to believe that there are films that you thought are great are not that good for some people in the same way that some films that did'nt work for you are things of beauty for some.

That's the way it is. Let's all celebrate that this world has people who think, see & interpret things in a lot of different ways. I hate Darkness Falls (F) but let's hope that there are not that many people who will make the poster who said this "On the bright side, at least no one has said that Darkness Falls is better than The Shining." sad.

 

[Holadem]

So in conclusion, opinions about film are very objective and constant bickering about other's serves no purpose? You learn something new everyday.

quote:
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Identity (A) is the smartest & chilling slasher film (since Psycho)
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I can understand liking it, but that may be a bit of an overstatment.

This is why threads like these degenrerate. I had infinitely more fun watching Indentity than Psycho (which happens to be on my not so great classics list), even though Hitch is one of my favs. Yay, I said Hitch was one of my favs, my opinion just became more valid. Oh, I liked the Shining too and zooooooooomm, I just gained a few more credibility points. Last, I love sad movies with cryptic mid-sentence endings. Go me.

--
Holadem

 

[Arman]

Holadem, exactly! I am actually happy for you that you had much more enjoyable time watching Identity than to what I thought is a masterpiece & superior film Psycho (A+).

To gain some credibility points , for the record, in the 2003 Film List & S & S Greatest Films Club threads, I gave The Shining a very respectable A- then downgraded it to B+ grade. And don't forget that Hitchcok & Kubrick are two of my all-time favorite directors. But in my mind & standard, Identity (A) is a better film than The Shining.

 

[Nate Anderson]

I also agree...if they had established Malcolm better, the ending would have worked so much better. As it is, it's an interesting twist and give a new perspective on the rest of the film, but It just doesn't work as well as it should in the film as presented.

What I find staggering is this movie is written by the same guy that wrote "Jack Frost", that terrible movie about the killer snowman.

 

[Matt Stone]

This is why threads like these degenrerate.

I think this may be the first time that I caused the degeneration of a thread

...I'm so proud I could cry.

Seriously though...I thought that comment leaded to some good discussion. Arman gave his reasoning on why he believes it to be the best thriller/slasher since Psycho, and I explained why I don't make historical comparisons early.

 

[Cary T]

*Contain spoilers*

Just saw Identity tonight. Funny thing during the middle of the movie I joked to my friend, "it's the kid." I thought the kid thing at the end was pretty lame. But overall I enjoyed Identity. I'm just a sucker for Cusack movies

 

[John CW]

Argh??? I wrote a whole huge post for this thread and it seems to have disappeared?!? :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: Bummer!

I was really interested to know where people "got it" (if they did before it was revealed. I got it when the killer turned up at his hearing... I said to my friend next to me "they're all personalities in his head" and then immediately regretted it because I thought I'd spoilt the film for him... Luckily he misheard me! Anyhoo, in my last post I listed all the clues I got that gave it away... there's actually quite alot! Jake Buse running away from the motel TO the motel... The "who am I talking to now" line during the credits. And many more.


Still, a really great film!!

~ John

 

[Matt Stone]

No need for spoiler tags here...it's the spoiler friendly discussion thread.

I kind of got it when Busey tried to escape but just ended up back in the hotel. I tied that to the opening and the TV previews/Trailers I saw and thought "They're all the same people." At that point I thought that they semi-existed in the real world...but figured that they were all just the killer's personalities when they brought him to the hearing. I turned to the friend that I was with and said "they're all inside his head." Also luckily, he didn't understand what I meant.

 

[Marc_Sulinski]

I had a strong suspicion that the people were all in the guys head before I even went to the theater, thanks to a spoiler on the Rotten Tomatoes website:

"One of my personalities liked this movie, the other nine hated it." from themoviechicks.com.

This is the actual blurb that is shown directly on the rotten tomatoes website.

 

[Rives Elmore]

so it comes as a moment when they shatter realism in the last minute of the film

So, the bodies disappearing was realistic? Sorry, but realism died WAY before the last minute of the movie

 

[Justin_S]

So, the bodies disappearing was realistic?

That wasn't unrealistic, as the killings were taking place in the killer's mind where anything can happen. As the personalities were eliminated, they disappeared from his mind. Perfectly plausible in my opinion. Same goes for the ending.

 

[Alex Spindler]

I unfortunately got it from the trailer, especially Cusack under the white lights shaking his head. I had written a story that covered very similar ground, although they dealt with it much better in Identity than what I could come up with.

If I didn't have it, I'm sure Busey doubling back on himself to the motel would have done it. They make a pretty good case that the outer story (with the hearing) was about the person who kills all the main characters at the motel. When they finally show his face and its clear that it isn't an actor we've seen, the alarm bells would normally be ringing.

 

[Rives Elmore]

That wasn't unrealistic, as the killings were taking place in the killer's mind where anything can happen. As the personalities were eliminated, they disappeared from his mind. Perfectly plausible in my opinion. Same goes for the ending.

Justin,

I know full well the premise of the movie, I was replying to someone elses post that realism was lost in the last minute when it ended up being the boy that was the killer personality.

 

[John Thomas]

I kind of got it when Busey tried to escape but just ended up back in the hotel.

Yep. As if the known universe was just that area around that particular hotel. Kinda like that ST:TNG episode where Dr. Crusher is in a warp bubble....

 

[Steve_Knutzen]

I just saw a TV spot for it and I'm glad that I didn't see this particular one before seeing the movie. Seeing Timothy walk away from the explosion with that look on his face would've ruined it for me. I feel bad for anyone that had that image in their mind when they went to see the movie.
I thought it was pretty good. Just after seeing it the jury was still out on wheter it was good or sucked, but after thinking about it I thought it was a well-made thriller with a good premise. I think that it could have been played-out better but they did a good job. The use of foreshadowing and re herrings was excellent. And the cast was top-notch.

 

[John Geelan]

Saw it last night and it is a genuinely creepy atmospheric movie. Great acting and a very interesting plot.

I had no idea that the kid was behind the murders. I knew right away the Ray Loitta's character wasn't on the up and up but the rest did surprise.

 

[David Lawson]

I knew right away the Ray Loitta's character wasn't on the up and up but the rest did surprise.

To be fair, that's a given with any character Ray Liotta plays.