From Stroke to Strike !

Rating: Null/10 (25 February 2011)

The matter of a closed haunted room is fabulous. It's a new shape for a horror, and with one place, one character; it's another (Die Hard) yet against supernatural unseen powers, plus it's a film of a movie as well; where room 1408 equals a moment in which the person meets nobody but himself, facing his conscience's ghosts in inescapable trial. But.. did our dear movie realize any of that? Well, that's the problem. While having unusual potential, it - stupidly - chose to be usual. Let's see the shamefully easy way to achieve everything.
(John Cusack) as a lead? BOO. BOOO. BOOOO! This guy is not that talented, let alone being uncharismatic to the MAX. So baring watching him, for all the time, without seeing someone else, was impossible. A more expensive star, not greater actor, like (Bruce Willis) could have been less provoking, since at least he has a charisma. But (Cusack) was fitter because he demands low fee. Knowing that we're in a horror, nothing was more horrific than Cusack's performance at the moment of "BUT I WAS OUT, I WAS OUT, I WAS OUTTTTTT". Mr. (Cusack), I hoped you were out.. of the movie!
No doubt that the rich idea met a poor dealing. The script uses many empty circles for just filling the time with "some frightening anything"; recorded phone calls, timer radio runs suddenly, ghosts walk in one specific way, etc. It has counted freaky gags as the same as what any silly Tom Arnold movie has, yet purely!
The theatrical end is terrible, I don't know who's the fool who put it there. So the daughter's voice was real; what can I, or anyone in the world, gain out of that?!! And remember, this totally meaningless moment was for ending happily with (John Cusack) alive, JOHN CUSACK ALIVE!!!!!! Kill the bore for god's sake, and for the horror's sake as well! Later, I watched the alternative ending; it's so wonderfully dark, hence more suitable. Obviously this time, with tame everything, choosing tame ending was devastating!
Some points were correctly realized though; the sound effects; being the real lead of this movie, brilliant few moments like meeting the father or having a fax of the daughter's dress, and part of the music. And No, don't wait for me to say (Samuel L. Jackson). He didn't do it coolingly as he could have!
1408 = disappointing whether as a horror, different Die Hard version, or serious film about meeting the ugliness of oneself. It's where being mediocre means weak compared to its potential. Here's a movie that could have been a stroke of genius, but ended up as a strike of genius. Uncreative and cheap are the right words to diagnose why.
P.S: meeting (Samuel L. Jackson) in the refrigerator was laughable in the wrong place. Tells you how the makers of this movie don't know a lot about the basics of horror.