1408

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.

Release Date: July 13th, 2007 (wide) 

Starring: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Christopher Carey, Mary McCormack

Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom (Derailed)

Premise: Adapted from the short story by Stephen King, a writer (John Cusack) obsessed with finding proof of the afterlife checks into the haunted room #1408. 

[abuck1220]

sometimes you're just in the mood for a haunted house movie.

this was actually pretty good until it (predictably) falls apart at the end. these types of stories are tough to wrap up.

spoilers, i guess...

it always bothers me when supernatural type movies wind up back in reality. like for an hour and a half you're in this alternate type universe, and then it brings you back to the normal world for the last five minutes. don't know why, but it bugs me. take the shining for instance...the story is wrapped up, there's a conclusion, but it doesn't completely rip you out of the element that you've been in the whole movie.

speaking of the shining, there was lots of similar stuff in here. writer, bad father, etc...and cusack was really pretty great. sam jackson's on screen for maybe 10-12 minutes, and he's nothing special.

[72teeth]

i thought this was great... it been a while since a horror film has made me smile.

[SiliasRuby]

First film that has scared me in a long time. It's good to see a good ol' fashioned ghost story when all this torture porn coming out and such.

[MacGuffin]

NOTE: I watched the theatrical version.

I didn't find this particually scary (the trailer ruined the scares). The 'haunting' is more psychological to Cusack's character, and that made it more interesting than a standard possessed room movie. I never read the King story, so I don't know how faithful it is, but it recycles from some of his other stories; Misery, Christine, and mostly The Shining. The one element I truly enjoyed was the issues of God, Heaven, and the room being some form of purgatory.