Identity (2003)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers. No character deaths, or major twists**

Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is a death row inmate, and he’s twenty-four hours away from his execution. But Malcolm’s psychiatrist, Dr. Malick (Alfred Molina) tries to convince Judge Taylor (Holmes Osborne) to change his ruling, allowing Malcolm to live out the rest of his days in a psychiatric hospital under his care. Dr. Malick uses Malcolm’s journals during an emergency meeting at a courthouse in a last-ditch effort to save Malcolm’s life, but Dr. Malick’s demonstration during Malcolm’s  face to face meeting with Judge Taylor takes an unexpected turn, when Malcolm is forced to confront his worst fears.

Meanwhile, during a heavy rainstorm in Nevada, a limo driver/ex-police officer driver named Ed (John Cusack) is looking for a safe path on the slippery roads ahead. In the backseat, Ed’s client, Caroline Suzanne (Rebecca De Mornay), a disgruntled TV star from the 80’s, orders Ed to look for a replacement battery for her cellphone. Ed takes his eyes off the road for a split second, and he accidentally hits Alice York (Lelia Kenzle). Alice’s young son, Timmy York (Bret Loehr) is horrified at the sight of his wounded mother, but Ed agrees to help Alice, Timmy, and Timmy’s stepfather, George (John C. McGinely) with a ride to the nearest motel.

At the motel, Ed, Caroline, Alice, Timmy, and George meet the owner and manager, Larry (John Hawkes). Alice needs medical attention, but the roads are flooded, the phone lines are down, and cell phones are useless without reception. Eventually, more travelers seek shelter inside the motel. The newlyweds, Ginny (Clea DuVall) and Lou (William Lee Scott) are trying to work out problems in their rocky relationship; a cop named Rhodes (Ray Liotta) is escorting his prisoner, Robert (Jake Busey) to another prison; and Paris (Amanda Peet), a prostitute,  is forced into the motel after an unexpected breakdown.

Alice is bleeding to death, and the group is forced to deal with another problem during the rainstorm: an unknown killer is stalking everyone in the motel. The killer quietly eliminates everyone in the motel, and escape is not an option. Ed, Rhodes, and others struggle to solve the mystery behind the killer and his motivations before sunrise, but a series of shocking revelations complicate the investigation……….

If I had to pick one person for the best performance, I would give the nod to John Cusack. Cusack is a solid leading man as Ed. His performance isn’t mind-blowing, but Cusack does enough to justify an increased amount of focus and screen time. Amanda Peet is serviceable as Paris, and you’ll see Peet’s best scenes during her rivalry with Larry. Larry detests prostitutes, and you can feel the disdain between these two during a series of dueling verbal jabs. Ray Liotta? He’s not bad, but his performance as Rhodes is passable at best, and that’s it.

Rebecca De Mornay had the chance to steal the show, as the snobbish and pompous TV star with en ego, but her screen time is cut short here. William Lee Scott is the typical overbearing boyfriend, who openly flirts with Paris, and of course, he verbally abuses Ginny. Clea DuVall is a panicky and frightened mess, as Ginny. Jake Busey is decent enough as the creepy convicted killer with a dark side, and John C. McGinely is believable, as the nerdy and soft spoken stepfather, who’s trying to do the right thing.

I know I say this a lot, but you REALLY have to strap yourself into suspension of disbelief mode for Identity. Maybe I’m the only, who feels this way, but when it comes to reactions, you’ll hate the twists at the end, because you’re in the “too far-fetched” crowd. Or, you’re jaw will hit the floor, when Identity reveals the killer.

Hindsight (probably my second or third watch for Identity. First time in a LONG time, but still) kills a lot of the shock value for me, but Identity earned a spot on my list of favorites. It’s an eerie and suspenseful mystery/thriller, featuring a series of genuinely shocking twists during the jaw-dropping finale, and you‘ll see the gruesome aftermath of unfortunate victims (i.e. Robert‘s mangled corpse with a baseball bat stuck in his throat…yikes).

Identity does a wonderful job of playing mind games with the audience during the constant finger-pointing in a deadly whodunit game of cat and mouse. The desolate motel in a fierce rainstorm is a perfect setting for the main characters, because it’s an isolated deathtrap, and this setting enhances feelings of desperation and claustrophobia. In the end, Identity is a must-see film, easily. As I said before, when it comes to the twists at the end, it’s an even split for which side of the fence you’ll be on. You’ll hate or love the reasons behind the revelations for the killer, but one thing’s for sure, it’s impossible to resist the urge to decipher, question, and analyze Identity’s memorable and thought-provoking finale.

Rating: 8/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Identity (2003)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is a death row inmate, and he’s twenty-four hours away from his execution. But Malcolm’s psychiatrist, Dr. Malick (Alfred Molina) tries to convince Judge Taylor (Holmes Osborne) to change his ruling, allowing Malcolm to live out the rest of his days in a psychiatric hospital under his care. Dr. Malick uses Malcolm’s journals during an emergency meeting at a courthouse in a last-ditch effort to save Malcolm’s life, but Dr. Malick’s demonstration during Malcolm’s  face to face meeting with Judge Taylor takes an unexpected turn, when Malcolm is forced to confront his worst fears.

Meanwhile, during a heavy rainstorm in Nevada, a limo driver/ex-police officer driver named Ed (John Cusack) is looking for a safe path on the slippery roads ahead. In the backseat, Ed’s client, Caroline Suzanne (Rebecca De Mornay), a disgruntled TV star from the 80’s, orders Ed to look for a replacement battery for her cellphone. Ed takes his eyes off the road for a split second, and he accidentally hits Alice York (Lelia Kenzle). Alice’s young son, Timmy York (Bret Loehr) is horrified at the sight of his wounded mother, but Ed agrees to help Alice, Timmy, and Timmy’s stepfather, George (John C. McGinely) with a ride to the nearest motel.

At the motel, Ed, Caroline, Alice, Timmy, and George meet the owner and manager, Larry (John Hawkes). Alice needs medical attention, but the roads are flooded, the phone lines are down, and cell phones are useless without reception. Eventually, more travelers seek shelter inside the motel. The newlyweds, Ginny (Clea DuVall) and Lou (William Lee Scott) are trying to work out problems in their rocky relationship; a cop named Rhodes (Ray Liotta) is escorting his prisoner, Robert (Jake Busey) to another prison; and Paris (Amanda Peet), a prostitute,  is forced into the motel after an unexpected breakdown.

Alice is bleeding to death, and the group is forced to deal with another problem during the rainstorm: an unknown killer is stalking everyone in the motel. The killer quietly eliminates everyone in the motel, and escape is not an option. Ed, Rhodes, and others struggle to solve the mystery behind the killer and his motivations before sunrise, but a series of shocking revelations complicate the investigation……….

If I had to pick one person for the best performance, I would give the nod to John Cusack. Cusack is a solid leading man as Ed. His performance isn’t mind-blowing, but Cusack does enough to justify an increased amount of focus and screen time. Amanda Peet is serviceable as Paris, and you’ll see Peet’s best scenes during her rivalry with Larry. Larry detests prostitutes, and you can feel the disdain between these two during a series of dueling verbal jabs. Ray Liotta? He’s not bad, but his performance as Rhodes is passable at best, and that’s it.

Rebecca De Mornay had the chance to steal the show, as the snobbish and pompous TV star with en ego, but her screen time is cut short here. William Lee Scott is the typical overbearing boyfriend, who openly flirts with Paris, and of course, he verbally abuses Ginny. Clea DuVall is a panicky and frightened mess, as Ginny. Jake Busey is decent enough as the creepy convicted killer with a dark side, and John C. McGinely is believable, as the nerdy and soft spoken stepfather, who’s trying to do the right thing.

Who’s the killer? Is it Rhodes? Larry? Robert? Well, the answer to all three is a big no. On top of that, you can omit EVERYONE from the motel. Why? Because they’re not real. Remember Malcolm Rivers? Malcolm suffers from a severe case of dissociative identity disorder. Malcolm’s mind is cluttered with ten different personalities, and each person at the motel represents one of Malcolm’s personalities. One of the personalities took control of Malcolm’s body, and this personality forced Malcolm to commit the murders. The motel, the ten strangers, the rainstorm, the floods. It’s all fake, and Malcolm is playing out one of Dr. Malick’s elaborate scenarios in his mind, because Malcolm must “eliminate” the murderous personality to avoid his execution.

For a moment, Malcolm snaps out of the motel scenario as Ed, but Dr. Malick pushes Malcolm to return to the scenario in his mind (as Ed) to finish what he started, and eliminate the killer. Rhodes, Paris, and Ed are the sole survivors after Rhodes (an escaped convict, who posed as a cop for a decoy, and Robert was his prison buddy) murders Larry. Ed and Rhodes kill each other in a shoot out, so Paris is the sole survivor. A calm Malcolm finishes the scenario in Judge Taylor’s presence, so Judge Taylor agrees to Dr. Malick’s terms: Malcolm will live out the rest of his life in a mental hospital under Malick’s supervision and care.   

At dawn (we‘re jumping into the motel scenario again), Paris uses Larry’s truck to drive to her hometown of Frostproof, Florida to start over.  One day, Paris is out in the garden, and she finds a motel room key with the number one on the front. Long story short, the killer placed room keys from the motel on the dead bodies of his victims as a calling card.

Anyway, Paris picks up the key with this terrified look on her face……and Timmy is standing in front of her. Yep. Timmy was the murderous personality in Malcolm’s mind, but Timmy survived the massacre at the motel. Timmy eliminates (or murders) Paris, so Timmy takes full control of Malcolm’s body. Ed and Paris are gone, so Malcolm can’t rely on sensible reasoning or logic anymore. In the van with Dr. Malick and a guard, Malcolm (under Timmy’s influence) uses his handcuffs to strangle Dr. Malick. The driver panics, and the van skids into the desert to end the movie.

Identity packs a powerful punch with a series of genuinely shocking twists at the end. Malcolm living in a dream world, and everyone at the motel being an imaginary person in Malcolm's mind? If you predicted all of that with no bumps in the road, then I need to borrow your crystal ball for a weekend.

I know I say this a lot, but you REALLY have to strap yourself into suspension of disbelief mode for Identity. Maybe I’m the only, who feels this way, but when it comes to reactions, you’ll hate the twists at the end, because you’re in the “too far-fetched” crowd. Or, you’re jaw will hit the floor, when Identity reveals the killer.

Hindsight (probably my second or third watch for Identity. First time in a LONG time, but still) kills a lot of the shock value for me, but Identity earned a spot on my list of favorites. It’s an eerie and suspenseful mystery/thriller, featuring a series of genuinely shocking twists during the jaw-dropping finale, and you‘ll see the gruesome aftermath of unfortunate victims (i.e. Robert‘s mangled corpse with a baseball bat stuck in his throat…yikes).

Identity does a wonderful job of playing mind games with the audience during the constant finger-pointing in a deadly whodunit game of cat and mouse. The desolate motel in a fierce rainstorm is a perfect setting for the main characters, because it’s an isolated deathtrap, and this setting enhances feelings of desperation and claustrophobia. In the end, Identity is a must-see film, easily. As I said before, when it comes to the twists at the end, it’s an even split for which side of the fence you’ll be on. You’ll hate or love the reasons behind the revelations for the killer, but one thing’s for sure, it’s impossible to resist the urge to decipher, question, and analyze Identity’s memorable and thought-provoking finale.

Rating: 8/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Night Of The Scarecrow (1995)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers, no character deaths, major reveals, or plot twists**


After a lengthy hiatus, Claire Goodman (Elizabeth Barondes) returns to her hometown of Hanford. Here, Claire has a tense reunion with her bitter father, Mayor William Goodman (Gary Lockwood). Claire befriends a local farmer named Dillon (John Mese) after Dillon's heated confrontation with Danny (John Hawkes), one of Dillon's more disgruntled workers.

At the Mayor’s house, Dillon is introduced to the entire Goodman family one by one. Dillon meets the town sheriff, Frank Goodman (Stephen Root), his wife, Lorraine (Cynthia Merrill), and their two children Toby and Martha; the town priest, Thaddeus (Bruce Glover), his wife, Barbara (Martine Beswick), and their daughter, Stephanie (Cristi Harris); and George (Dirk Blocker), who lives alone on a farm.

Claire tries to enjoy a happy and peaceful return to Hanford, but the harmless trip down memory lane is disrupted by a murderous scarecrow. After an unintentional resurrection, The Scarecrow (Howard Swain) embarks on a murderous rampage with one mission: Destroy the entire Goodman family one by one. Claire slowly uncovers secrets behind a troubled past for her ancestors, and the origins of The Scarecrow. With Dillon’s help, Claire fights to stop The Scarecrow’s killing spree, but a bigger problem emerges after a confession from Thaddeus. Using an ancient tool of evil, The Scarecrow plans to resurrect an invincible warlock.

I’m used to seeing a few generic and clichéd characters in a slasher film, but Night Of The Scarecrow has a bad case of overkill in this department. Claire is the innocent good girl, who transforms into the unlikely heroine as the movie progresses. Mayor Goodman is the typical greedy and corrupt politician. George is the angry booze guzzling drunk, who totes a shotgun. Thaddeus is the self-righteous priest. Dillon is the guy, who inexplicably falls for the leading lady (Claire), he’ll do anything to protect her, and Dillon forms a team with Claire to fight The Scarecrow. And I can’t forget about Danny, because he’s the one guy, who’s a jerk to everyone.

Although, Stephanie is a nice refreshing change for this cast of characters. At first glance, you’ll get the impression Stephanie is pure and harmless as a priest’s daughter, but behind her father’s back, Stephanie is a loose and promiscuous teenage girl, who’s in a secret relationship with her wild boyfriend.

And yeah, the characters are clichéd and generic, but you’ll see the familiar faces of a few veterans here. Root gives one of the better performances, but Root also had more breathing room to work with as Frank, because Frank is the conflicted sheriff, who’s torn between doing the right thing, and obeying strict orders from his overbearing brother (William). Overall, the cast isn’t bad, and Barondes is a decent leading lady.

Night Of The Scarecrow’s mundane through the motions predictability really annoyed me at times. The horror clichés? Oy vey. You name it, and you’ll see it in Night Of The Scarecrow. The car won't start, victims fall down while running, a few morons accidentally resurrect an ancient evil, and of course, you have the miraculous Hail Mary comeback at the end.

Still, if you’re the type of horror fan, who enjoys mindless fun, Night Of The Scarecrow is a passable guilty pleasure film. Night Of The Scarecrow is loaded with some really gruesome and creative kills, and you’ll see a some genuine cringeworthy moments. Night Of The Scarecrow is a corny B-movie slasher flick with some hilarious one-liners, including Claire’s “How bout some fire Scarecrow!” But I’ll warn you now, if you watch Night Of The Scarecrow with a serious mindset, you’ll have a miserable viewing experience, and I’m pretty sure you’ll hate yourself for taking the time to watch this one.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready

Night Of The Scarecrow (1995)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

After a lengthy hiatus, Claire Goodman (Elizabeth Barondes) returns to her hometown of Hanford. Here, Claire has a tense reunion with her bitter father, Mayor William Goodman (Gary Lockwood). Claire befriends a local farmer named Dillon (John Mese) after Dillon's heated confrontation with Danny (John Hawkes), one of Dillon's more disgruntled workers.

At the Mayor’s house, Dillion is introduced to the entire Goodman family one by one. Dillion meets the town sheriff, Frank Goodman (Stephen Root), his wife, Lorraine (Cynthia Merrill), and their two children Toby and Martha; the town priest, Thaddeus (Bruce Glover), his wife, Barbara (Martine Beswick), and their daughter, Stephanie (Cristi Harris); and George (Dirk Blocker), who lives alone on a farm after the death of his wife, Doris.

Claire tries to ignore the friction with her father, so she can enjoy a happy and peaceful reunion with her uncles, but The Goodmans are forced to deal with a bigger problem. One night, a drunk Danny and his buddy, Ben (Robert Harvey) accidentally disturb the tomb of an evil warlock. After Danny urinates on a post with The Scarecrow (Howard Swain) attached to it, The Scarecrow comes to life, determined to complete one mission: Murder all The Goodmans, and anyone, who tries to stop him.

After Thaddeus survives an attack from The Scarecrow, Thaddeus explains the dark history behind The Scarecrow’s past. Over one hundred years ago, Silas Goodman led The Goodmans to Hanford. Under Silas’ guidance, The Goodman’s settled in and founded Hanford. But infertile soil and harsh winters destroyed all the crops, and eventually the entire town was stuck in a period of famine with no help, until a warlock offered his help. Using his evil spell book, The Warlock (John Lazar) made a deal with Silas, promising to restore the soil and provide more than enough food to feed the town. In return, The Warlock was free to do anything in Hanford with no restrictions or questions asked.

As the desperate leader, Silas agreed to The Warlock’s terms to save his people. Eventually, The Warlock used his black magic to corrupt the townspeople, so Silas drugged The Warlock’s drink one day. With help from other Goodmans and the townspeople, Silas crucified The Warlock, and to leave no room for error, Silas and others burned The Warlock’s body. The Warlock’s spirit was confined to a scarecrow, and his bones were buried underground in a sealed tomb.

For protection Silas stole and hid the evil spell book, and as the oldest living Goodman, William received the spell book as a gift. Motivated by revenge as a scarecrow, The Warlock has returned to retrieve the hidden spell book, because The Scarecrow can use the spell book to reunite his bones with flesh for a return to the living world.

During the chaos, Mayor Goodman is more concerned with protecting a lucrative land deal for Hanford’s first shopping mall, and William sees an easy target for a scapegoat in a hot-headed Dillon. Claire struggles to locate the spell book, as The Scarecrow wreaks havoc in Hanford. Failure isn’t an option, because if The Scarecrow succeeds, The Warlock will return as a powerful and unstoppable force.

I’m used to seeing a few generic and clichéd characters in a slasher film, but Night Of The Scarecrow has a bad case of overkill in this department. Claire is the innocent good girl, who transforms into the unlikely heroine as the movie progresses. Mayor Goodman is the typical greedy and corrupt politician. George is the angry booze guzzling drunk, who totes a shotgun. Thaddeus is the self-righteous priest. Dillon is the guy, who inexplicably falls for the leading lady (Claire), he’ll do anything to protect her, and Dillon forms a team with Claire to fight The Scarecrow. And I can’t forget about Danny, because he’s the one guy, who’s a jerk to everyone, so when his character is killed off, you either don’t care or you’re happy he’s dead.

Although, Stephanie is a nice refreshing change for this cast of characters. At first glance, you’ll get the impression Stephanie is pure and harmless as a priest’s daughter, but behind her father’s back, Stephanie is a loose and promiscuous teenage girl, who’s in a secret relationship with her boyfriend, Danny.

And yeah, the characters are clichéd and generic, but you’ll see the familiar faces of a few veterans here. Root gives one of the better performances, but Root also had more breathing room to work with as Frank, because Frank is the conflicted sheriff, who’s torn between doing the right thing, and obeying strict orders from his overbearing brother (William). Overall, the cast isn’t bad, and Barondes is a decent leading lady.

Night Of The Scarecrow’s mundane through the motions predictability really annoyed me at times. The most obvious choice is Claire and Dillon surviving. You knew both of them would make it to the end after some big, epic battle with The Scarecrow, and they did. You knew Frank would find a way to return after a fight with The Scarecrow, and he did. And of course, two people (Stephanie and Danny) are murdered after an attempt at sexual intercourse. To make things worse, you have that one person (Stephanie), who unknowingly flirts with the killer, until they open their eyes to witness their own demise.

The horror clichés? Oy vey. You name it, and you’ll see it in Night Of The Scarecrow. Frank’s cop car won’t start TWICE, as Claire and Dillon are trying to make an escape. Victims fall down while running, Danny and Ben disturb The Scarecrow, when Ben clearly senses something is wrong, and during the finale, you have the miraculous Hail Mary comeback from Claire and Dillon.

Still, if you’re the type of horror fan, who enjoys mindless fun, Night Of The Scarecrow is a passable guilty pleasure film. Night Of The Scarecrow is loaded with some really gruesome and creative kills, and you’ll see some genuine cringeworthy moments (i.e. The Scarecrow sewing Thaddeus’ mouth shut…ouch). Night Of The Scarecrow is a corny B-movie slasher flick with some hilarious one-liners, including Claire’s “How bout some fire Scarecrow!” during the finale. But I’ll warn you now, if you watch Night Of The Scarecrow with a serious mindset, you’ll have a miserable viewing experience, and I’m pretty sure you’ll hate yourself for taking the time to watch this one.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

And remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

And don't forget to like both of my Facebook pages, because the Mitch MacReady 2 Facebook page includes quotes from both ebooks that can't fit into Tweets- https://www.facebook.com/mitch.macready