Movie Moment: Identity
Personally, I blame the Sixth Sense. You may finger another cause for the current obsession with surprise endings (“twists”), but I’ve picked mine.
Not that Identity‘s first surprise ending is that bad. In fact, given the tired nature of this genre, it actually feels fresh (though my experience with horror films is mercifully little.) But of course the filmmakers try to pile on yet another twist — and that’s where my patience wanes.
My expectations weren’t too high, of course. I needed a rainy day movie to see with good friends, and John Cusack always seems watchable. The horror/suspense plot guaranteed the whole thing was disposable anyway, as the Times captures so well: “Identity is a dressed-up B picture, a hunk of cheese trying to sneak into the gourmet food aisle of the supermarket.”