Not "The Shining for 2007"

Rating: 6/10 (2 July 2007)

I could easily go off on this film. The potential was there from the start, but as with many of the Steven King films, the great storytelling is smothered by a thick layer of cheese. Horror films have always had the potential to be so much more than the industry or public has let them be. I really believe that 1408's story lends itself to more way subtlety that it is given in this film. Sure its billed as a psychological thriller and definitely deals with some dark subjects. However the overall tone of the film is just not creepy enough for me to be convinced that it is a thriller. Once he entered the room, I more or less just sat in the dark and waited for sh*t to pop out. Where's the creepiness in that? Where's the women in the tub, like in the shining? If this room makes people go mad, why not show some serious hallucinations? Not just a wide angle lens and camera wobble? It seems as if the director wanted this to be a fun film that could appeal to a non-horror crowd. A scary, fun-house kind of entertainment that constantly reminds you that nothing you are looking at could be real. At one point Samuel Jackson tells John Cusack that "thats a evil f*cking room". Well? All I can say is, show me! Don't pull punches. Give me evil, not a tales from the crypt episode. My advice is, save your money and rent the DVD