A relatively modern version of the classic "The Shining"

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2017)

It's not the same plot of course, but haunted hotels nonetheless, both based on books by the same author.
I think there's a bit of Stephen King in Mike Enslin, played by John Cusack who in my opinion is an underrated actor because he truly delivers in this film (and others, but he is often given roles in crappy films).
A cynical, drunkard writer frequents haunted places even though he doesn't believe in ghosts, but a part of him hopes to finally witness ghost activities in order to provide his readers authentic horror stories. He finally gets to experience it, but it's nothing like he'd imagined. The ordeal is eye-opening to him in two aspects: supernatural entities do exist (in the movie at least) and his own life. The true horror is mostly psychological, as this entity makes him relive the worst moments of his life: his daughter passing away from cancer, him leaving his wife afterwards and moving away to distance himself from anything that relates to the tragic event and his complex relationship with his father. He's filled with regret over a lot of life decisions and that is what breaks him, and also what compels him to survive and win the battle against the room. There are two alternative endings to this film, one where he lives and the other where he dies (obviously), but the one where he survives is superior because it would make sense after all his efforts to become a better person. I shamelessly admit that I love Samuel L Jackson regardless of the character he's portraying, and he was definitely a nice addition to the movie. The film is also not the typical jump scares cheesy thriller, and in that it stands out from the average thriller movies nowadays. I watched it too many times to count, definitely recommend this!