A Perplexing Torturous Trip!

Rating: 7/10 (26 September 2007)

This is as close to a one-man show as we can get. John Cusack really goes through the gamut of human attitudes and emotions in this one film. For me, it is a convincing tour-de-force acting performance. He really gets into the skin of his character and rides the storyline all the way through the roller coaster from hell, from its benign beginning to its heart-stopping twists and turns, up to its fiery end. He plays Mike Enslin, a writer who debunks popular haunted places. He gets challenged to stay at Rm. 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel in New York City by an anonymous postcard. He couldn't resist the dare, so he thwarted all efforts to stop him from staying for a night. Needless to say, his life turns 360 degrees after the manager leaves him in the fated room. The evil spirit of the room, along with ghosts of the room's past victims, as well as Enslin's own personal ghosts regarding his daughter who died of cancer, all join forces to torment him and torture him both physically, mentally and emotionally.
After this movie, you will never hear "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters the same way again. This sweet song actually became creepy! The movie never loses focus. Very exciting. Tight, very well-edited. There's a strange bit at the end with Samuel L. Jackson's hotel manager character in a perplexing scene. But then the whole movie is one big perplexing trip, you don't really notice.