IT TAKES verve and cunning, not to mention luck, for a film to genuinely surprise its audience with a final reel twist.
The Usual Suspects and The Sixth Sense managed the feat with elan, and James Mangold's psychological thriller almost succeeds too.
If only screenwriter Michael Cooney didn't allow the pace to slacken in the final 20 minutes, allowing us too much time to ponder the clues.
If only the epilogue weren't so cliched and hammy.
If only the film had a different title.
A sudden torrential rainstorm and violent winds force ten complete strangers to seek refuge from Mother Nature in a motel somewhere in the Nevada desert.
The motel manager (John Hawkes) is only too glad to put everyone up for the night, including a fading movie star (Rebecca De Mornay), her limousine driver (John Cusack), a cop (Ray Liotta), a prostitute (Amanda Peet) and a pair of newlyweds (William Lee Scott, Clea DuVall)
The group is glad to have found shelter from the weather, but the sense of relief is quickly shattered when one of their party is murdered - and then another.
Paranoia sweeps through the survivors as it becomes clear that one of them is a serial murderer, picking off his or her prey in the supposed safe haven of the motel.
As the guests turn on each other, they discover that they were drawn to the motel by dark forces beyond their imagination.
The few who survive the ordeal will be granted a mind-bending and terrifying destiny.
Director Mangold generates delicious tension from the claustrophobic motel setting, which is made all the more foreboding by the constant rat-a-tat tat of rain on the apartment roofs.
The ensemble cast is excellent - excepting De Mornay's exceedingly camp turn - notably Cusack and Liotta.
The death scenes are gruesome without being gratuitous and there are plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing to the killer's identity.
It's a pity the screenwriters telegraph the final twist so far in advance, but even though you know what's coming, the film's ambition is still impressive.
Rating: 7/10
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