Identity (starring John Cusack and Ray Liotta) is stylish, tense, genuinely creepy and, ultimately, stupid.
The basic premise is interesting enough: a bunch of strangers get stranded together at a motel until morning, their numbers lessening as the night unfolds. So far, so slasher flick. But the strangers come to realise that they all have a connection to each other and they might not be their by accident after all. At this point, there is a real sense of sinister going-ons.
And then the words “ancient Indian burial ground” are mentioned. Thankfully, however, that most laughable of plot devices is never capitalised on. Instead, we’re subjected to something far more embarrasing; the sort of surprise only a writer who ran out of interest could come up with. The audience left laughing.
A perfect example of a movie ruined by a twist.