The Little Pointy End of the Toilet Roll

Rating: 6/10 (24 April 2014)

Saints be praised! Somebody--Mikael Håfström--got a Stephen King story right on film, maybe even improved on the short story. I watched 1408 on TBS, and I had a wonderfully refreshing case of the heebies and a sprinkling of jeebies, too!
Although I had to put up with the garish "time-compression," I was hooked almost immediately, primarily because I like John Cusack on screen--his crisp diction (which invites listening to him carefully) and frumpy, everyman looks invite a camaraderie with his character. Throw in the almost-always watchable Samuel L. Jackson and the lovely Mary McCormack and the human element is solidly set.
Then, there's the creepy stuff, two hours of demons and nasties, corpses and winking dopplegangers, and Karen Carpenter warbling on the clock radio that had me right where a psychological horror movie needed me to be.
One foot in the keep watching and the other in the get the hell out of here.