What do you want from me, evil mini-bar!?!

Rating: 4/10 (14 February 2016)

I damn well realize that this isn't my most popular personal opinion, but yours truly always thought that Stephen King is incredibly overrated and often even balancing on the edge of being a plagiarist. The fact that so many of his novels/stories got turned into fantastic classic movies – horror or otherwise – is mainly the accomplishment of all the gifted directors that helmed the adaptations (Brian DePalma, Stanley Kubrick, Frank Darabont, Rob Reiner) rather than of King's own writing talents. This "1408" is based on a short story of his that probably not many people read, and the film oddly enough received positive reviews in the press and on the internet, although most of the praise once again went to the director (Mikael Hafström) and the cast (John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson). Many of my fellow reviewers also label this as one of the best supernatural/ghost stories of the past two decades, but according to me it's just another derivative, predictable and principally dull thriller. Cusack stars as Mike Enslin; a not-so successful (at least, judging by the upswing at his latest signing session) author specializing in debunking myths and folklore tales surrounding haunted mansions/hotels. Enslin is a skeptic drunk and when he receives an anonymous letter daring him to overnight in room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York, he doesn't see much of a challenge. Hotel manager Gerald Olin (Sam. L) still attempts to discourage Enslin by reciting a bunch of horrendous events that occurred in room 1408 as well as by stating that the room is just plain evil, but the stubborn writer obviously won't listen. He soon discovers that there is something very wrong with room 1408, but it's not the type of location that is haunted by the restless ghosts of deceased tenants It's more like the type of haunted location that confronts the victims with his/her own inner demons; in case of Mike Enslin the unprocessed death of his daughter and the fact that he cowardly abandoned his wife. So, we have the story of a mentally unstable guy who gets isolated in a freaky hotel Now where have we seen that before? Yes, Stephen King is nowadays even copycatting himself since "1408" is often similar to "The Shining". "1408" is definitely watchable, and Cusack gives a powerful one-man performance, but the film is too predictable and containing far too many imbecilic sequences, like for example when Mike Enslin is hysterically shouting at the mini-bar.