A conflict for the ages: man vs hotel room

Rating: 4/10 (28 October 2007)

Before I say anything about the film, I have to compliment the performance of John Cusack here. From that little crony in Sixteen Candles, Cusack's come a long way in mastering an expressive, manic persona that fits the bill perfectly for 1408. As for the movie itself, 1408 is a stylish thriller that's strong in delivery but weak in substance. Sure the room is evil and plays mind games, but its boogie tactics evolve from the clever to the outright ludicrous. How you could taunt a man with Karen Carpenter's voice in one scene and later have him flee from a corpse in an air duct in another is beyond me but there you see it.
Novelist Mike Enslin stays overnight in hotels and inns and writes of their horror stories. When he receives a postcard to not check into a room in New York, his further investigation shows it's too good of an offer to pass up.
As with other King movies, pay attention to the little scenes at the beginning that may seem pointless but later add up. The room plays all sorts of games from physical to downright emotional and there's no greater tool that it uses to me than its clock. But eventually it uses the phone, the window, the walls and even the fire escape route map to break Michael Enslin even further down. But there is still no funnier scene than Cusack being chased down by a zombie or something in an air duct. What were they thinking? Anyhow, the movie is still an OK psychological thriller once you suspend your disbelief in knowing the antagonist is an evil hotel room. Jackson and Cusack can't get much better in their skills as they themselves convince you that something is terribly wrong in room 1408.