For at least the first half of its running time, 1408 is one of the strongest Stephen KIng short story adaptions I've seen.
As with most King stories, they've got a great yarn to build from.
John Cusack (Say Anything, The Raven) stars as TMZ level novelist Mike Enslin. After a promising first novel and a tragic life event, he's now wallowing in writing about haunted hotels, debunking them while fabricating the most sensationalistic version of what he experiences, which is typically nothing.
Like those TV Ghost Hunters, there seem to be spooks wherever he goes, but are there? Really?
After receiving a mysterious postcard, he heads to the Dolphin Hotel in New York City to stay in room 1408.
He's greeted by Hotel Manager Gerard Olin (Samuel L. Jackson, relishing his brief role and bringing the goods) who offers to give him every bit of sorted history AND an $800 bottle of scotch to NOT stay in the room.
But Mike is past the point of believing and caring, so Gerald reluctantly gives him the key, letting him know that more than 50 people have died in the room and NO ONE has lasted more than an hour after checking in.
It's a fun premise that's built for suspense and scares.
The screenplay is no slouch, with Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski (The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Ed Wood) crafting a fun first half.
But the film has a couple things that make it challenging for it to hold its intensity for the entire running time.
It's basically a one man show after Enslin shuts the door of 1408. Yes, other characters, dead & alive, pop in and out, but Cusack has 90% of the screen time to himself. That's not a bad thing. Cusack has always given his characters a quirky, fascinating edge. But an hour in a room is a long time to sustain suspense.
As the film goes on, stretching King's original story to nearly two hours, it begins to collapse under its own mythology, but it's never less than involving.
Mary McCormack (Private Parts) is excellent as Lily, Mike's estranged wife and she brings real feeling to a final scene that emerges out of nowhere to close things out in strong fashion.
Len Cariou (Blue Bloods) is okay but not given a lot to do as Mike's father.
Room 1408 is a bit like those rooms in King's Overlook Hotel in "The Shining", stretching and morphing into some pretty expansive spaces within the mind.
But NOTHING here approaches any scares even half the equal of Kubrick's film, even though they plow some of the same psychological turf.
The room may be "pure evil" but the 2007 PG-13 rating makes it Evil-light in the scheme of things.
A solid hit in theaters, it still plays pretty well today, limited only by its rating and a creeping sense of being stage bound that sets in about an hour on.
It only scares up a C for me, paling in comparison to that much larger hotel dominating my King memories.
For you real-life hotel ghost hunters, take note that due to alleged paranormal activity, the Emily Morgan Hotel in San Antonio, Texas has sealed one of their rooms, 1408. Perhaps King's inspiration?
Also, anyone out there still fascinated with the number 13 will have plenty to discuss after viewing!
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