What Could of Been a Good Horror Film

Rating: 6/10 (7 July 2007)

I went to see 1408 in hopes of rekindling my spirit of the horror film genre. Having seen numerous amounts of Drama, Action, and Gore I had high hopes that this movie could pull me back to the genre I never really fully appreciated or understand.
It however, sadly failed. The movie was an enjoyable experience I felt the acting was superb by Cusack who plays Mike Enslin a cynical writer who's sick of his job. Also Samuel L. Jackson who made the room seem scarier with six words: "It's just an evil f---ing room" The cinematography and direction were superb, I loved the angles chosen and how we seemed to get closer and closer to Mike's face as the movie went on, but with all these positive things that allowed me to give this movie a six, the only major flaw was the story.
The story did not give me the scary jumps that "The Shining" has once given me. I've read Stephen King and his style of horror is merely to blur the line between reality and fantasy the only problem with this is that all of the scary parts came were predictable. I felt it was smart but not scary, a great dramatic story, but not a scary bone-chilling story. What this movie proves is, even with great directing, great acting, and great camera work, the story is what makes a movie great, or decent.
I recommend film lovers to go see it, to prove why the screenplay is just as important if not more important than the camera itself.