It's tough for me to think up a good opening for this review, and so, I will simply state that this is a film I cannot sum up in one word.  If I could, then this review would've been over about 40 words ago.  Although, there's another thing on my mind.  How do I layout much of a premise without spoiling the good stuff.  Well, here it goes.

The film starts out with a very Bates-like motel on a desert road in Nevada.  It's pouring rain, and that very road is flooded.  There's no way out.  That's why these ten people are now stranded in this motel.  George, Alice, & little Timothy York (John C. McGinley, Leila Kinzel, & Bret Loehr) suffer an accident that leaves Alice in very bad shape.  Limo driver Ed Dakota (John Cusak) is the reason for Alice's injuries because he was distracted while retrieving a cell phone battery for actress Caroline Suzanne (Rebecca De Mornay), whom he is driving back to Los Angeles.  These five end up at that motel, but Ed attempts to go for help at the emergency medical center 30 miles away.  But with the roads flooded, he has no hope of reaching it.  Ed picks up Paris (Amanda Peet) along the way because her car klunked out on her (you may also ask yourself why, in the middle of a torrential rain fall, didn't she put the top up on her Pontiac convertible).  Ed & Paris get a ride back to the motel from the reluctant Lou (Wlliam Lee Scott) & Ginny (Clea DuVall) after the limo gets partially trapped in the flooded desert highway.  And the final ones looking for sancutary at the motel are Rhodes (Ray Liotta) & Robert Maine (Jake Busey).  Rhodes is a Department of Corrections officer transporting Maine, a multiple murderer.  The motel manager, Larry (John Hawkes), is accommodating, yet nervous at the same time.  Things are not all what they seem as people are murdered, one-by-one, with only a numbered room key left at the scene.

And then, what is the connection with the convicted murderer, Malcolm Rivers?  What is his part in this?  He's not anywhere near the motel, but his is the most pivtol character in this whole story.  At first, I thought the midnight hearing, 24 hours before Rivers' scheduled execution, was actually about Busey's character because of the references to the convict being a murderer & late arriving at the hearing.  Rivers' sanity is being questioned, and if found to be legally & clinicly insane, his execution will not go down.

This film will keep you guessing from one moment to the next as to many things.  Who will die next?  Who is the killer?  Who is Malcolm Rivers & what is his connection to this story?  Many twists unfold in plot & perception, and when you think this film has twisted your thoughts into many knots, it throws one final one at you.  Now, these twists won't leave you lost, there's much breathing room & enough exposition to allow you to understand all that is happening.  This film is tense, suspenseful, creepy, & haunting.  An excellent psychological thriller that you can make certain connections to "Psycho" (the motel, a certain shower curtain connection, etc.), but there's far more to this film than just a group of people getting killed a la "10 Little Indians".  In fact, no other film has utilized this genre quite as well as there is much psychological terror for the characters as well as the audience.  I'm bordering on spoilers, and I apologize.  It's just that this film is a certified & justified hit for Columbia Pictures that it's difficult not to border on exposing certain plot points.  Though, I can focus on other things.  Like the style of this film.  The immediate flashbacks.  You'll see a lot of them at the start and a bit near the end.  They just show how certain events brought everyone together.  Like it was Paris' high-heeled shoe that flew out of her opened suitcase that caused the York's flat tire later that night.  A nice, quick storytelling tool that helps move the story ahead quickly without leaving even small questions unanswered.  I enjoyed that element quite a bit, and the direction & editing of them handled well.

Now, the acting.  The acting is on a superb level, the direction from James Mangold is excellent, and the script from Michael Cooney.  What can I say?  It's unlike anything I've witnessed.  This is a great film that will grip you from start-to-finish, and then some.  This is definitely worth a couple of showings at your local theatre.  This is a sure-fire blockbuster (at least, as big as this genre gets at the box office).  Yes, it's a 10 out of 10, and I strongly urge you all to see this film at your earliest conveinence!