Identity (R)

Scary beyond belief serial killer thriller.

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About Our Ratings
Common Sense rates it
4
Seen the movie? Review it
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Movie details
  • Studio: Columbia Tristar
  • Directed By: James Mangold
  • Cast: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet
  • Running Time: 90 minutes
  • Release Date: 04/25/2003
  • Video/DVD Release Date: 09/02/2003
  • Genre: Thriller
  • MPAA Rating: R
  • MPAA Explanation: strong violence and language

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is a very scary movie with a lot of intense peril and some grisly and upsetting deaths. A character is a prostitute and there are some sexual references, including a discussion of a possible out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Characters drink, smoke, and use strong language.

Families can talk about the enduring appeal of movies about serial killers.

Message

Social Behavior:

All characters white

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Drinking and smoking

Violence

Gruesome deaths Very intense and graphic peril

Sex

Character is a prostitute, some sexual references

Language

Some very strong language

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Nell Minow

It was a dark and stormy night. Ten strangers are stranded at a seedy motel. And then, as one of them later explains, "people started dying." At first, it seems that they have nothing in common: a movie star (Rebecca De Mornay) and her limo driver (John Cusack), a prostitute (Amanda Peet), a police detective and his prisoner, a man (John C. McGinley) with a critically injured wife (Liela Kenzle) and her young son, and a just-married couple (Clea Duvall and William Lee Scott). Once they have all assembled and we have established that all communications and exits have been cut off by the rain, scary-movie things begin. As characters are killed off, the survivors try to figure out who the murderer is and what the pattern is to the deaths. At first, the murders seem as random. But then, as each body has a motel room key counting down in sequence, it seems clear that there must be a connection.

Is it any good?

4
Close-ups with suspenseful music mean that something bad has happened or is going to happen just outside the frame. But the conventions of the genre are treated more as traditions and they are expertly handled and wonderfully creepy in IDENTITY.

This is a thriller with real thrills -- both the kind that make you jump and the kind that make you think. It is one of those rare Sixth Sense-style puzzles with a fabulous plot twist that may send audiences back to see it a second time just for the fun of knowing how it all fits together.

Other choices

Ten Little Indians
The Sixth Sense
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Parents and kids say

All Reviews

There are 4 reviews.

5


Posted on 07/14/07 by dklink94 Kid contributor, age 13

GREAT Thriller but NOT for kids under 15.

ok. well this is definately one of the best movies ever. it has all the thrills you could ask for and it also has a really good twist. it follows Agatha Christie's "10 little Indians" story (aka "and then there were none...") /sex:/ Character is prostitute. one scene where she is putting whipped cream on a guy's chest. violence: lots of brutal killings including being hit by a car. exploding/burning, stabbed/head cut off and found in a dryer/washing machine, shooting, person found with baseball bat in throat, dead man in freezer, and someone killed by a gardening rake. /language:/ almost every sentence has a swear word whether its a s---, f---, motherf-----, damn, hell, etc. alcohol/drugs: characters drink a little bit. 2 characters smoke. great movie for john cusack fans, and anyone who loves horror. also i suggest if you liked this movie SECRET WINDOW, PSYCHO, THE FORGOTTEN, FLIGHTPLAN, and SAW.
Age 8+
5


Posted on 03/11/07 by coolcandyman Adult contributor

I was on the edge of my seat!!!

This movie is one that will keep you guessing 'till the end. Questions such as "Who is it?" or "When will so&so die?" will come up during viewing. this thriller is a must-see for ages 13+ "pre-teens".
Age 8+
4

Posted on 12/31/06 by Anonymous Adult contributor

4

Posted on 06/16/03 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 15

Scary

It's a good conventional horror film until the whopper of a third act. Really scary!

Adult Reviews

There are 2 reviews.

Age 8+
5


Posted on 03/11/07 by coolcandyman Adult contributor

I was on the edge of my seat!!!

This movie is one that will keep you guessing 'till the end. Questions such as "Who is it?" or "When will so&so die?" will come up during viewing. this thriller is a must-see for ages 13+ "pre-teens".
Age 8+
4

Posted on 12/31/06 by Anonymous Adult contributor

Kids Reviews

There are 2 reviews.

5


Posted on 07/14/07 by dklink94 Kid contributor, age 13

GREAT Thriller but NOT for kids under 15.

ok. well this is definately one of the best movies ever. it has all the thrills you could ask for and it also has a really good twist. it follows Agatha Christie's "10 little Indians" story (aka "and then there were none...") /sex:/ Character is prostitute. one scene where she is putting whipped cream on a guy's chest. violence: lots of brutal killings including being hit by a car. exploding/burning, stabbed/head cut off and found in a dryer/washing machine, shooting, person found with baseball bat in throat, dead man in freezer, and someone killed by a gardening rake. /language:/ almost every sentence has a swear word whether its a s---, f---, motherf-----, damn, hell, etc. alcohol/drugs: characters drink a little bit. 2 characters smoke. great movie for john cusack fans, and anyone who loves horror. also i suggest if you liked this movie SECRET WINDOW, PSYCHO, THE FORGOTTEN, FLIGHTPLAN, and SAW.
4

Posted on 06/16/03 by Anonymous Kid contributor, age 15

Scary

It's a good conventional horror film until the whopper of a third act. Really scary!
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