History Film / Identity

** It makes sense later, though, when his DarkAndTroubledPast is elaborated on and you find out he's very used to seeing horrific things.
** [[spoiler:Makes even more sense given how he's not a real person]]

** The original and new proprietor of the motel are both named Larry.

** Malcolm Rivers qualifies, as well, [[spoiler:since he ''is'' Larry and Timmy.]] This aspect of him is derived from his mother, who would abuse him when he was a child and abandoned him in motel rooms while she was out working as a prostitute.

* YankTheDogsChain: After going through hell and surviving the night, it seems as if [[spoiler:Paris is the only one left alive. She's able to finally leave and returns to her hometown to start a new life for herself. Then she finds the last room key...]]

* SixIsNine: It's revealed that [[spoiler:the guests are being killed in the order of their room numbers]]. Shortly after Ginny and her boyfriend walk into room 9, the closing of the door causes their number to flip to 6, disrupting the sequence to observers.

%%* DwindlingParty

* {{Foreshadowing}}: One can notice the back of Rhodes' shirt is dirty. [[spoiler:Because it's where he stabbed the cop who was driving him and Maine, [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer before taking his clothes]].]]

* HowWeGotHere: At the start of the movie we watch characters entering the HellHotel. Then there is a freeze frame and we return to an earlier point where we are shown what happened to them before they arrived.

* SlutShaming: How Larry treats Paris from the moment they meet.

* AxCrazy: Robert Maine,[[spoiler: Timmy York, and by extension, Malcolm Rivers.]]

* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: [[spoiler: Ultimately the motel segment is one.]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: Ed Dakota is TheHero with dark eyes, dark hair, dark clothes and a DarkAndTroubledPast to top it all off. [[spoiler: In fact, he's the most heroic and moral of all Malcolm Rivers's alter egos.]]

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Dr. Malick is essentially the hero of the second plot. Malick spends the movie working to save a damaged soul from the monster he has inside of him, and thus save him from the death sentence that monster earned for him. In a way, he's the hero of the whole film since, [[spoiler: in essence, he's also trying to save all the characters in the central plot, who are all aspects of his patient's fractured psyche. He actually manages to positively influence the more moral identities against the homicidal one. [[AllForNothing Not that it does him much good.]]]]
* DirtyCop: Officer Rhodes shows signs of this, due to his brutality of Robert Maine and his interrogation with Larry. [[spoiler: As it turns out, the real cop is found dead [[PunkInTheTrunk in the police car's trunk]].]]

** [[spoiler: Makes even more sense given how he's not a real person]]

* EveryoneIsATomato: About two-thirds into the film, it's revealed that [[spoiler: every single character at the motel is a personality of Malcolm Rivers, and the whole movie was a plot to kill off his alternate identities, curing his Multiple Personality Disorder.]]

* ExternalCombustion: [[spoiler: Ginny]] dies when their escape car explodes. [[spoiler:The same is assumed of Timmy, but he's NotQuiteDead...]]

* GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler: The psychoanalysts' plan to treat Malcolm Rivers' SplitPersonality condition ''actually succeeded''... by killing off his every personality ''except'' the core murderous one.]]

* HeroicBSOD: Ed reaches this point [[spoiler: when he discovers that he was never a real person but a split personality made up in the mind of a crazy person. And so are all the people he's met throughout the film.]]

* JustKeepDriving: Early on, when Paris loses half her suitcase's content on the road. The road was empty and she could have easily turned back to pick up the pieces but in service of the plot, she felt she had to keep driving. [[spoiler: JustifiedTrope, since she literally ''exists'' in service of the plot.]]

* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler: Timothy York wears all white and exudes ChildrenAreInnocent. He's the monstrous killer everyone fears.]]
* LittleNo: [[spoiler: Paris' last word, spoken when Timmy appears wielding a rake and telling her (the only time he speaks in the movie) "Whores don't deserve a second chance."]]
* LocationThemeNaming: All characters are named after U.S. states: Edward '''Dakota''', Samuel '''Rhodes''', Paris '''Nevada''', '''Caroline''' Suzanne, Robert '''Maine''', '''Lou Isiana''', '''Virginia''' Isiana, Larry '''Washington''', and George, Alice and Timothy '''York'''. [[spoiler: A big clue to the reveal that they are all made up people.]]
** [[spoiler: Could possibly carry over into {{Meaningful Name}}s as they represent Malcolm's various '''mental''' "states".]]

* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler: Timmy. When he's not straight-up murdering people with his own hands, he'll trick people into stepping in harm's way so that they get themselves killed.]]
* MeaningfulName: Malcolm '''Rivers'''. [[spoiler: "Rivers" like the divergent multiple personalities that exist in his head, separate and unique streams of life whose rushing currents eventually intersect until they all lead back to the same place.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Ed gets hit with this hard when [[spoiler: he tells Ginny and Timmy to flee the motel in a car, only for the car to [[ExternalCombustion explode when they get in]].]]

** [[spoiler: Larry goes deeper with this trope. When a frozen corpse is found and the only possibility is him killing that man, he responds that the man already died by the time he arrived at the motel 2 months before. He preserved the manager's body in the freezer and didn't call the police because he doesn't want to be accused of murder. Being broke and have nowhere to go to, he took over the position the manager to the people who arrived after him.]]
* NothingIsScarier: Played straight when [[spoiler: Ginny's boyfriend goes from frantically pounding on the door to sudden total silence.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: Robert Maine. [[spoiler: Too bad he's not the killer.]]

* PsychopathicManChild: This is ultimately [[spoiler: all that remains of Malcolm Rivers/Timmy York.]]

** [[spoiler:Samuel Rhodes]] is seemingly the real culprit behind the murders after Paris discovers that he is not a cop but a convict [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer posing as a cop]]. This is {{downplayed}} in that while [[spoiler:Rhodes]] is innocent of most of the murders at the motel, he still manages to kill [[spoiler:Larry and Edward]].

** At a certain point, Ed decides that the safest bet would be for the surviving characters to just get in the car and try their luck in the storm since people keep dropping like flies at the motel and no one knows who to trust. This plan goes out the window as soon as someone gets in the car [[spoiler: and it explodes.]]
** [[spoiler: Rhodes drops all pretenses and goes to murderous lengths to escape once he realizes the others know what kind of person he truly is and, naturally, peg him as the killer.]]

** Malcolm Rivers qualifies, as well, [[spoiler: since he ''is'' Larry and Timmy.]] This aspect of him is derived from his mother, who would abuse him when he was a child and abandoned him in motel rooms while she was out working as a prostitute.
-->'''Malcolm Rivers:''' I remember my mother... I remember my mother... I remember my mother was a whore...
* SoCrazyItMustBeTrue: When Larry explains that [[spoiler: the frozen body was the actual motel manager and that he only [[DeadPersonImpersonation took over his identity]] after finding him dead]], Paris notes that this story must be true because it's so unbelievable.

* UnnaturallyLoopingLocation: The desert. Robert Maine escapes from his motel room, runs out into the desert, sees a group of buildings in the distance which he approaches - [[WrapAround and ends up right back inside the motel]]. [[spoiler: Justified since it's a MentalWorld.]]

->"''As I was walking up the stair''
->''I met a man who wasn't there''
->''He wasn't there again today''
->''I wish I wish he'd go away.''"
->''"Where did you learn that poem?''"
->''[[OlderThanTheyThink "I made it up."]]''

* CruelTwistEnding: [[spoiler:It appears that Ed has managed to kill [[SplitPersonality Malcolm's murderous identity]] while sacrificing his own life and leaving only one survivor, making the movie seems like a BitterSweetEnding. But then it turns out that Ed had killed the wrong person, his sacrifice was in vain, and the murderous identity was still alive to kill the FinalGirl while causing Malcolm to kill one of the psychiatrists.]]

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:Timmy was treated as an unimportant sweet child character until the end where it was revealed that he was the evilest personality of Malcolm Rivers and was the one who was responsible for the killings in Motel]].

** [[spoiler:Robert Maine]] is the primary suspect in the beginning as the movie never discloses Rivers' first name until [[spoiler:Robert]] dies, which potentially misdirects the viewers into believing that [[spoiler:Robert]] and Rivers are the same person since both of them are dangerous criminals that are supposed to be transported to another location while under police security.

* OedipusComplex: Rivers's mother was a prostitute, and [[spoiler: one of his personalities]] is as well - and most of the male characters find her very appealing.

* BadassLongcoat: Ed Dakota sports a black trench-coat.

* EveryoneIsATomato: About two thirds into the film, it's revealed that [[spoiler: every single character at the motel is a personality of Malcolm Rivers, and the whole movie was a plot to kill off his alternate identities, curing his Multiple Personality Disorder.]]

* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The movie is set in one rainy night, and the next morning.

* FinalGirl: [[spoiler:Subverted. At the end it seems like Paris is the only one who made it... but then Timmy shows up to violently kill her with a rake]].

* HopeSpot: They think they have things solved and under control a couple times.

* IResembleThatRemark: When Ginny's boyfriend screams at her through the locked bathroom door that he is calm.

* JustKeepDriving: Early on, when Paris loses half her suitcase's content to the road. The road was empty and she could have easily turned back to pick up the pieces but in service of the plot she felt she had to keep driving. [[spoiler: JustifiedTrope, since she literally ''exists'' in service of the plot.]]

* LocationThemeNaming: All characters are named after U.S. states : Edward '''Dakota''', Samuel '''Rhodes''', Paris '''Nevada''', '''Caroline''' Suzanne, Robert '''Maine''', '''Lou Isiana''', '''Virginia''' Isiana, Larry '''Washington''', and George, Alice and Timothy '''York'''. [[spoiler: A big clue to the reveal that they are all made up people.]]

* NoBodyLeftBehind: One of the major clues that something is off happens when the bodies of the victims up to that point completely vanish. This is because [[spoiler:none of the people at the motel are real.]]

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Caroline (his employer) threatens to fire Ed and telling him he will be held responsible if he tries to help Mrs. York. Ed still helps Mrs. York and snatch Caroline Suzanne's cell phone from her.

** At a certain point, Ed decides that the safest bet would be for the surviving characters to just get in the car and try their luck in the storm, since people keep dropping like flies at the motel and no one knows who to trust. This plan goes out the window as soon as someone gets in the car [[spoiler: and it explodes.]]

* SignificantBirthDate: A group of seemingly unrelated people is [[DwindlingParty slowly being killed off]] while trapped at a remote motel during a storm. At one point it's revealed that every single one of them have the same birthday, which [[ContrivedCoincidence simply doesn't seem possible]]. [[spoiler:This is because they're all imaginary identities of a man with multiple personality disorder. You didn't pay attention when Malcolm's own birthdate was casually revealed at the very beginning of the movie, did you?]]

** Malcolm Rivers qualifies, as well, [[spoiler: since he ''is'' Larry and Timmy.]] This aspect of him is derived from his mother, who would abuse him when he was a child and abandon him in motel rooms while she was out working as a prostitute.

* SpottingTheThread: Ginny tries this at first third of story but fails as they have different destinations and don't even share hometowns. The party is more successful the second time, as they accidentally discover [[SignificantBirthDate all of them have the same birthday]] ''and'', as Ed muttered, [[LocationThemeNaming are named from U.S. States]].

* YankTheDogsChain: After going through hell and surviving the night, it seems as if [[spoiler:Paris is the only one left alive. She's able to finally leave, and returns to her hometown to start a new life for herself. Then she finds the last room key...]]

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:By the end of the film, every split personality in Malcolm, except Timmy, is dead.]]

** [[spoiler:Robert Maine]] is the primary suspect in the beginning as the movie deliberately points to him as the dangerous criminal mentioned in the introductory scene, only to later disclose that he and Rivers are two different people.
** [[spoiler:Larry Washington]] becomes a person of interest after convicted murderer [[spoiler:Robert]] dies under his watch. It also doesn't help that he stole wallets off the victims' corpses, kept a dead body in the freezer, and accidentally killed George.

* TenLittleMurderVictims: The usual formula is played with in that there are [[spoiler:two unrelated killers.]]

* IndianBurialGround: A RedHerring. Ginny informs the group that she read in a brochure that the place might be haunted because a hundered years ago a group of displaced Indians died there of thirst.

* RedHerring: Numerous examples.
** [[spoiler:The B-Plot is set up as being related to Robert Maine, until Malcolm Rivers shows up and the proceedings begin]].
** [[spoiler:The hotel is supposedly on an ancient IndianBurialGround]].
** [[spoiler:The convict, the motel owner as well as the police officer are all set up to be the killer at some point]].

* ExternalCombustion: [[spoiler: Ginny and Timmy]] die when their escape car explodes.

* ShoutOut: Agatha Christie's ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone'' (aka ''"Ten Little Indians"'') is mentioned in passing. The poem recited at the beginning and the end of the movie is taken verbatim from "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mears.
* SignificantBirthDate: A group of seemingly unrelated people are [[DwindlingParty slowly being killed off]] while trapped at a remote motel during a storm. At one point it's revealed that every single one of them have the same birthday, which [[ContrivedCoincidence simply doesn't seem possible]]. [[spoiler:This is because they're all imaginary identities of a man with multiple personality disorder. You didn't pay attention when Malcolm's own birthdate was casually revealed at the very beginning of the movie, did you?]]

* JustKeepDriving: Early on, when Paris loses half her suitcase's content to the road. The road was empty and she could have easily turned back to pick up the pieces but in service of the plot she felt she had to keep driving. [[JustifiedTrope, since she literally ''exists'' in service of the plot.]]

* SignificantBirthDate: A group of seemingly unrelated people are [[DwindlingParty slowly being killed off]] while trapped at a remote motel during a storm. At one point it's revealed that every single one of them have the same birthday, which [[ContrivedCoincidence simply doesn't seem possible]]. [[spoiler:This is because they're all imaginary identities of a man with multiple personality disorder. You didn't pay attention when Malcolm's own birthday was casually revealed at the very beginning of the movie, did you?]]

* JustKeepDriving: Early on, when Paris loses half her suitcase's content to the road. The road was empty and she could have easily turned back to pick up the pieces but in service of the plot she felt she had to keep driving.

* SignificantBirthDate: A group of seemingly unrelated people are [[DwindlingParty slowly being killed off]] while trapped at a remote motel during a storm. At one point it's revealed that every single one of them have the same birthday, which [[ContrivedCoincidence simply doesn't seem possible]]. [[spoiler:This is because they're all imaginary identities of a man with multiple personality disorder.]]