"Stay scared."

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2007)

If you've seen enough horror films, it's pretty hard to come away totally surprised by events in a picture that are meant to be scary. Still, "1408" does a pretty good job with setting up the viewer and it's principal player, John Cusack, for a roller coaster ride of conflicting emotions. I thought the selection of The Carpenters' tune was pretty interesting, as it conveyed to Mike Enslin (Cusack) that yes indeedy, we're just getting warmed up here and you better buckle yourself in for the ride. I thought though, that Cusack's character started to lose it just a little too early in the picture when the coincidence angle could have been played up a bit more. But by the time things really get rolling, the story builds with more and more authenticity so that you start putting yourself in Cusack's shoes and start wondering what you'd do if you were stuck in Room 1408 yourself. Me, I'd rather not even think about it, because if you've ever read one of Stephen King's books alone at night in the dark, on purpose, then that's as much of a scare as I'd like to attempt. Try watching this one alone at night, in the dark, on purpose.