1408

Ah yes, the Stephen King fright fest. Sure, the book to film translations of his books over the years have been hit or miss, but generally you know what you’re up against with a King movie. In 1408 we luckily dip into the greener side of the King fence with a creepy tale of isolation, fears, and plain old evil.

Most of us know the story by now after the heavy marketing blitz. Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is an author and paranormal investigator. Normally setting out to debunk any haunting stories, Mike is tipped off to the Dolphin hotel as the room 1408 at said hotel is said to have a heavy history of paranormal activity. A consummate disbeliever, Mike faces off against the hotel manager (Samuel Jackson) finally winning through and obtaining the key to 1408. The night starts simple enough, but as the evening progresses, so does the activity as many whispered tales of a haunted hotel room come to life.

For myself, I found a lot to love within 1408 and little to frown upon. From beginning to end, this one follows the fairly standard formula for an enjoyable Stephen King freak fest. You have bizarro happenings with objects in the room, Mike Enslin’s slow dissent into madness while stuck in said room, and many little quirks and catches in the finer details to grab your attention. As the fit starts to hit the shan, you find yourself watch the far corners of each shot for some kind of weirdness going on in the background. Soon you may find yourself a bit fidgety as your nerves stand a bit on end to see what is going to happen next. Sometimes, you might find your self trying to suppress that jump as something surprises us all. (Us guys have a reputation to uphold don’tchaknow)

The one factor making this all the more enjoyable, or a sole factor perhaps, is the solo performance from John Cusack. Once the the roller coaster heads down hill in this one, Mr. Cusack is on his own. Nothing but 1 troubled writer and 1 haunted motel room. Depending on the actor this would be a nightmare situation in itself. Lucky for us Cusack pulls it off quite well drawing the viewer into the hysteria surrounding his overnight stay. Panic, fear, paranoia, disbelief, we are drawn in by his many mental states throughout the movie making it all the more engrossing looking back over it. The fact that he can pull off a solid forty five to sixty minutes on his own is a feat in itself.

Story and special effects are all top notch as well here. Stephen King, while some may argue is a pretty crappy technical writer, however he generally spins a damn good yarn. There’s been few of his stories that didn’t entertain me with most falling in the ‘read it all in one sitting’ pile; 1408 is no exception. Mix this in with the many haunting scenes and wild happenings within the confines of the Dolphin Motel and this is a pretty solid creep fest with out need of a boogey man or mask clad knife wielder.

Ready for a creepy flick to watch that’ll make your lady love perhaps snuggle a bit closer? Ready to have your brain tweaked a bit leaving you pondering plot points for a few hours post viewing? Ready to decide that you really don’t need that stay in the hotel for your mini vacation this week, perhaps it can wait? This one will suffice for all the ghost story lovers out there and the John Cusack lovers as well.

The only thing I didn’t get? What’s with the damn hats?

4.5 Haunted Holiday Inns out of 5