1408

1408

Starring John Cusack & Samuel L. Jackson

Talk about a movie that goes from creepy to screwy in a matter of seconds, or should I say within the hour that Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is trapped in room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel in New York City. Why did Mr. Enslin even think about going into the said room, supposed to be haunted, after Jackson's hotel owner, Gerald Olin, warned him profusely? He's a writer who investigates the scariest places in America. Now he found a room, got the spiel by Mr. Olin, and is persistent on staying in the room over night. Once in the room, he's introduced to its eerie occurrences - the clock is a countdown (one hour), he hears strange noises, he detects blood stains all over the entire room from past deaths (56 to be exact), and a painting moves to its side, all on its own. These ghostly effects take a grip on the viewer, creating a great sense of paranoia. However, that was only the first twenty minutes of the film, and its a long, gruelingly horrible road to the end.

As Enslin starts to deteriorate and go insane inside 1408, Cusack has his moments of good acting. The rest is full of lines that are too predictably cliche that a burst of laughter is well needed. The movie is Enslin in the room. That is it. He talks to his voice recorder too who acts like a character only it doesn't work as one at all. The rest of the cast is unmentionable because they're barely a part of the film; even Jackson can't make this movie cool.

After the twenty minutes of descent paranoia, "1408" evolves into a room of complete mayhem and chaotic, cinematic malfunctions. The room takes Enslin to different periods in his life which we don't really care about, it takes him to a cliche "Wizard of Oz" dream effect that's not a dream at all, so it's a twist on a cliche making it a cliche in a way, and (SPOILER) though everyone that's trapped in 1408 has died in some grotesque way, Enslin survives, of course, and ruins the whole movie - as if it wasn't already a complete and utter mess.

The flick is based on a Stephen King short story, and it should have stayed in pages, not the screen.

Grade: D-