Logan Director James Mangold's Slasher Movie Is Perfect For Agatha Christie Fans

Sony Pictures Releasing

James Mangold's 2003 film "Identity" is a fun riff on Agatha Christie's oft-adapted 1939 murder mystery novel "And Then There Were None." In Christie's novel, eight characters arrive on an isolated island, invited by the mysterious, unseen Mr. and Mrs. Owen. They are joined by a butler and a housekeeper, who play a recorded message from the Owens accusing all of them of murder. When one of the guests keels over from poison, the game is afoot. Guest after guest is killed by an unknown assailant. Because the island is so isolated, one of the people present is definitely the murderer. It's one of the most famous murder mysteries ever written. Just be sure to refer to it by its current title; Christie's two original titles are rather offensive, derived from a racist folk song. 

"Identity" updates the location of "And Then There Were None" to a remote, rainy motel. Phone lines are down, and there isn't a soul for miles. Ten strangers from all walks of life arrive at the hotel at the same time, each one played by a notable celebrity. The main character is Ed (John Cusack), a limo driver and former cop who is well-equipped to deal with a murder mystery. His passenger is a snippy movie star played by Rebecca DeMornay. Jake Busey plays a dangerous murderer being transported to a new prison by Ray Liotta. Clea DuVall plays one of two newlyweds, and the great Amanda Peet plays an itinerant sex worker. John Hawkes plays the motel manager. There is DuVall's husband (William Lee Scott), another couple (John C. McGinley, Leila Kenzle), and their young son (Bret Loehr) besides. 

Naturally, there is a murder in the motel. And the film's many secrets only begin to unfold.

Sony Pictures Releasing

The inciting murder is plenty shocking, indicating that this was no mere accident or crime of passion. The Rebecca DeMornay character is decapitated, and her head is thrown in a clothes dryer. Naturally, because the motel is so remote, someone there dunnit. And, naturally, the murderer isn't done offing people, and characters — like in Christie's novel — begin getting offed one by one, and not necessarily in the order of their actors' billing. What is the identity of the killer? 

Curiously, the action keeps cutting back to a faraway trial of a serial killer, played by the marvelously reliable character actor Pruitt Taylor Vince. His character is being interrogated by a lawyer played by Alfred Molina. It won't become clear until more than halfway through the movie how the Vince and Molina characters could possibly be connected to the main whodunnit action of "Identity." Needless to say, you couldn't possibly predict the connection. Also late in the film, there is a notable plot twist about the identity of the motel killer, which changes the course of the action dramatically. One can commend screenwriter Michael Cooney and director James Mangold for keeping the drama and tension high, even after the dramatic revelation. The murder mystery must still be solved, and there is still a lot at stake. 

I wouldn't dream of revealing the film's many twists here, as I would want a viewer to discover them on their own. If you don't know what the twists are, I implore you not to look up "Identity" on Wikipedia or IMDb, as you will run into potential spoilers. Go in as cold as possible. 

Sony Pictures Releasing

The best thing about "Identity" is that it's 90 minutes. They cram so much into so little, and each actor gets the right amount of screen time, even if they are killed early on. And the film's tone is marvelously dreary, evoking the funereal mystery of an episode of "The X-Files" (which had finally gone off the air the previous May). 

Critics only liked "Identity" okay, as the film has a 63% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 171 reviews). Many critics liked the twists, even though some found the central revelation to be eye-rollingly contrived. Roger Ebert wrote that the film didn't really kick into high gear until the end, which was, in his experience, the opposite of how films usually work for him. Sometimes movies fall into lazy climactic action for their third acts, while "Identity" offers some new perspectives Ebert didn't see coming. Audiences also liked "Identity," earning it a respectable $90 million at the box office, based on its mid-tier $28 million budget. "Identity" was also one of those movies that found a second life on cable TV and on home video, allowing its audience to expand. Ask anyone who was a teen in 2003 to 2005, and it's likely they saw "Identity" by accident, and now recall it as one of those "Oh yeah, I remember that one being pretty good" movies. 

James Mangold said in a 2023 interview with Cinephilia Beyond that he was still proud of the movie, and allowed himself — thanks to the premise — to go a little crazy with the style. He noted that the premise of "Identity" was joked about in Charlie Kaufman's "Adaptation.," which came out only a few months earlier. The two films, however, aren't related.