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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:	2003
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	James Mangold
Genre:	Psyche-smarts
Starring:	John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta, Clea DuVall, Alfred Molina, John Hawkes
Rating:	5/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309698/
Tagline:	The secret lies within.
Favourite line:	"Whores don't get a second chance."

High quality psyche-thriller that’s a cut above.

The plot:
During an outrageously violent storm in Nevada, a sleazy motel becomes the setting for a night of endurance.
Ten strangers, each stranded because of the storm’s severity – roads to east and west are cut off by flooding, so there is no escape – must exercise extreme patience and endure terrible fear as they realise that, ruthlessly, and with a cold efficiency, they are being picked off one by one. As each victim dies, a room key is found on their body, the number on the fob first time round ten, then nine, then eight.
When one of the deaths is a clear accident, with no external involvement, the survivors begin to question how this can really be happening.
Are they up against a supernatural force?
Is their enemy already amongst them?
And is their fate already decided?

With Ray Liotta and Jon Cusack on board, one thing is certain: an offbeat feel.
Right from the start, director Mangold imbues proceedings with a genuine sense of quality, his camerawork of the highest standard. Rather than just pointing at things and guiding us that way, his camera lens seems to peer inquisitively, to enquire, to genuinely ask questions.
Edited to within an inch of its life, though not in a bad way, the interconnection between the characters is well drawn out and effectively realised, with occasional time shifts and replays of past events all handled with a real deftness of touch.
One of the wettest films you are likely to see – it rains constantly, the characters sodden from beginning to end – the inclement conditions, deep puddles and smeared mud give the film a real dirty feel, mucky and unclean, which simply adds to the atmosphere.
Smart stuff, this, really well delivered, with some twists and turns along the way that will, hopefully, catch you off guard, and a decent payoff.
Very, very good.