Salvation for the horror genre! This film is like a bad-trip or your worst nightmare

Rating: 7/10 (25 September 2007)

This film is certainly not comparable to its contemporaries, just as the horror genre was becoming a safe-bet for producers to cash in on idiotic teens eager to see the blood of one-dimensional characters splattered across the screen for no apparent reason, this diamond in the rough emerges.
Mike Enslin (John Cussack) is a horror writer who travels the nation documenting his experiences in staying at supposedly haunted hotels; he is disillusioned with his life and feels spiritually bereft after the death of his beloved daughter resulting in the break down of his marriage. He delights in shattering the hopes of others so that they may share his bleak outlook of life.
His publishers encourage him to visit the dolphin hotel in New York in which 56 deaths have been recorded all taking place in room 1408, he visits with the intention of using this as the final chapter in his novel. The manager of the hotel Gerald Olin (Samuel L.Jackson) desperately tries to convince him not to stay in the room explaining that "no one has lasted as hour" but ever the sceptic, also somewhat curious Mike insists on visiting the room.
What follows is far more than just a ghost story, I was wondering how a film could remain entertaining when for the most part it focuses on one man in one room, but I needn't have been concerned, this film had me on the edge of my seat. The audience's views and perceptions of reality are challenged just as those of the pessimistic protagonist are. He experiences visions that wound him emotionally by manipulating the very core of his fears, hopes, regrets and past experiences, distorting his perception of time and space whilst driving him to the verge of madness and suicide.
An instant classic and recommended for anyone who enjoys real horror, or films that make you think whilst also stimulating your emotions.