Solid cast, direction foster 'Identity'

"Identity" is a tricky flick to review. The less you know about this slasher-soaked whodunit the better, and as such, this write-up will be fairly nondescript.\nJohn Cusack leads an all-star ensemble as Ed Dakota -- a former cop turned limo driver. He's chauffeuring a spoiled, past-her-prime actress (an almost unrecognizable Rebecca De Mornay) through a violent thunderstorm in the middle of the Nevada desert. \nAn accident occurs and despite the protests of his whiny passenger, Ed takes a family of three (John C. McGinley, Leila Kenzle and gifted child actor Bret Loehr) with them to a nearby motel. The roads are flooded in either direction, phone lines are down, and others soon converge upon the same creepily flea-ridden dump that'd make Norman Bates wince. \nThe other characters are nothing more than a cavalcade of stock B-movie archetypes. There's the hotheaded cop (Ray Liotta) who's escorting a shackled, wild-eyed prisoner (Jake Busey) on a prison transfer, the young, dumb and incessantly argumentative newlyweds (Clea Duvall and William Lee Scott), a recently reformed hooker (Amanda Peet) and the motel's seedy hillbilly of a night manager (John Hawkes). \nIn a none-too-thinly veiled homage to Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, the guests are knocked-off one by one in a variety of different, but equally brutal, ways. Shooting, stabbing, decapitation, impalement, vehicular homicide and incineration are all in vogue until the closing credits roll.\nDespite its slasher flick origins, "Identity" is a sharply made thriller boasting a solid cast. Cusack gives a stellar performance, which further removes him from his oft-remembered '80s image of innocence. He's never been this gruff, tough or old onscreen, and it suits him nicely. Liotta, while not given a role with the breadth of his recent work in "Narc," turns in a few moments of finely tuned comedic timing and lends his character an appropriately omnipresent sense of intimidation. The comely Peet and character actor Hawkes give strong supporting performances. Both add humor to the proceedings, but also shine in smaller character moments. \nThe film also coasts on its smarter than average script (written, funnily enough, by "Jack Frost" scribe, Michael Cooney), the opulently moody cinematography of Phedon Papamichael ("Moonlight Mile") and overall deft direction. As directed by James Mangold ("Cop Land" and "Girl, Interrupted"), the flick is an atmospheric exercise in old-school horror. More akin to "Psycho," "Seven" and "The Usual Suspects" (twist ending and all) than "Friday the 13th" or "Halloween," "Identity" is one killer thriller.