Cusack checks in for a night of terror in this excellent Stephen King adaptation.

Rating: 8/10 (27 September 2007)

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a writer who, after the death of his daughter, has given up on life. Separated from his wife, he squanders his talent writing guidebooks on America's most haunted hotels, despite being quite convinced that life after death is a fallacy.
When Mike receives a postcard warning him not to stay in room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel, NY, he can't resist the challenge. He books the room, and, despite being repeatedly warned by the hotel's manager (Samuel L. Jackson) not to do so, he checks in for a night of unspeakable terror that drives him to the edge of sanity.
Based on a story by Stephen King book, 1408 is a terrific thrill-ride that managed the almost impossible task of freaking me out. Cusack gives a bravura performance as the man forced to face his demons whilst trapped in the hotel room from hell. Carrying the film almost entirely on his own, he convincingly portrays a man who, faced with unspeakable horror, gradually loses his marbles and possibly his will to live.
Even before Enslin enters 1408, director Mikael HÃ¥fstrÃ¶m ensures that the tension is made unbearable by having Jackson's character repeatedly warn the writer against the idea, telling him of the dreadful history of the room and the numerous people who have died there. By the time our protagonist steps across the threshold of the malevolent room, the audience is on tenterhooks, nervously awaiting the first inevitable sign of trouble.
HÃ¥fstrÃ¶m then carefully cranks up the tension by having his character gradually realise that all is not as it should be in 1408. At first Enslin is his usual sceptical self when confronted with the unexplained: he suspects that someone in his room is playing tricks on him. As the terror escalates, however, Mike realises that he has made a grave mistake and tries to leave, but it is too late... room 1408 has a new victim.
Mixing moments of absolute fear (Enslin's attempts at escaping the room are nail-biting exercises in tension) with pure shock horror (a couple of moments are guaranteed to have you leaving your seat), 1408 is a very effective movie. Only towards the end, when events spiral out of control and perhaps become a little too melodramatic, does the film lose some of its power, but this is a minor quibble and one that does little to spoil one's enjoyment of the film. Freaky, creepy and downright unnerving, this is one of the best King adaptations in a long time, and highly recommended viewing.