Native American Adam Beach takes the lead in the Canadian thriller, The Last Stop.

A blizzard strands a group of travelers at a motel and restaurant owned by Fritz (Jorgen Prochnow) and Maggie (P. Lynn Johnson). A Colorado state trooper, Jason (Adam Beach), arrives and gets stuck with them until a snow plow arrives in the morning to clear the pass. He discovers his former girlfriend, Nancy (Rose McGowan), among the patrons. She left him and moved to Los Angeles six years ago.

The group could not be more diverse ... or much more hostile toward each other. Jake (Collum Keith Rennie) and Roy (Peter Fleming) are rednecks who insult the men and hit on the women. Tim (William S. Taylor) is the black trucker who does not take their insults quietly. Carl (Winston Riekert) is an expensively dressed instigator who picked up a dingy broad named Jodie (Amy Adamson) somewhere along the way. Leslie (Damon Johnson) is Maggie's sister's grown, autistic, mute son. He works around the place, though Fritz often has to tell him to do something several times.

When they find a room soaked with blood and a honeymooning couple missing, Jason is pressed into service. Finding a frozen body makes it official. Jason must figure out which of the gang is the murderer and contain them before they kill again.

That would be enough to deal with, but then Leslie brings in a bag filled with money and they realize that it belongs to a bank in Vail that was just robbed. By the time Jason gets a bite to eat, they have another murder.

It is going to be a long night.

If you are astute, you will figure this out fairly quickly, but even if you do know who is doing the killing, you will still be on the edge of your seat all the way through. Sometimes knowing the killer's identity does nothing to lessen the tension and suspense. That is the case here.

This is an extremely well-written story. The tension is manipulated ideally. It puts your adrenalin pumping, then just when you start to relax, it gets you again. No writing project is ever perfect, but this one came darned close.

The character development is tremendous. You begin the movie with a room filled with strangers. You end it feeling like you know each one personally. Again, this is ideal writing, but it also a huge credit to the actors. Every role was played to the point of perfection. I cannot point out one thing that any actor could have done to make their character more believable in any of the situations.

The photography is immaculate. Again, I do not see room for improvement. The snowmobile scenes are super impressive -- clean, clear, steady tracking of the action, and shot from a logical angle.

The soundtrack contains a variety of styles that fit the scenes well. I liked every song.

The Last Stop is an exceptionally good whodunnit that could surprise you in the end. It will definitely keep you watching. Use the bathroom and get your junk food and drink before starting this one because you will not want an intermission.