Fright-Free Horror Strikes Again

Rating: 1/10 (25 October 2007)

These days every parent has a child who's an honor student and straight A's can be earned by showing up in class with a pulse. In line with that we have some oddly positive ratings for a dull and stupid horror flick like 1408.
Being clear: There isn't a scary 2 seconds in 1408 from start to finish. The plot is a shallow rehash and the John Cusack character is not interesting enough to devote more than a single moment to concern about what happens to him. One scene grabbed my attention: When the window dropped and smashed (hurt) his fingers. Ouch! We can all relate to that, and it matters not whether demons or gravity drop the window. Either way it HURTS; for days!
A day earlier we'd seen Universal's 1934 "The Black Cat" with horror superstars Karloff and Lugosi. They knew how to make a horror movie at Universal in 1934 --- one that would last 75 years. They do not know how at Dimension Pictures in 2007, and Stephen King has been bankrupt on effective ideas for two decades. Boo, hiss!