Don't Bother to Check In

Rating: 2/10 (16 November 2007)

Stephen King may have his limitations as a writer but when he puts his mind to it, he can turn out a scary story. And I don't mind admitting that "1408" (the short story) scared me. Those familiar with King's work will recognize in this tale one of his longstanding obsessions: the Bad Place. Unpleasant things tend to happen to the people who stay in Room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel. The room isn't haunted, exactlyit's simply evil. And when a writer whose specialty is the debunking of the paranormal decides to spend a night in the notorious Room 1408well, if you haven't read the story I shall not spoil the experience for you. Suffice to say that King does not disappoint.
Because it is a short story, "1408" bears no trace of the gassy bloat that has spoiled so many of King's novels. For he is actually a better writer than we think; the problem is that since Stephen King became a brand, no one seems brave enough to edit him. And precisely because it is a short story, "1408" has been turned into a pretty crummy movie.
The problem with "1408" (the movie) is that King's economical tale had to be padded out to feature-film length with whiz-bang special effects and tedious plot complications. In the process, it just plain stopped being scary. One of the things about the short story that made it frightening was what may be called the uncertainty principle. Are the horrors experienced by the writer actually happening? Or are they all in his mind? Just what kind of monster is Room 1408? Wisely, King doesn't say. But in the movie this question is never even asked, much less answered.
I imagine that "1408" would have done very well as a "Twilight Zone" episode. As a feature film, it's pretentious and ultimately boring. My advice: forget the movie, but find the story and read it if you haven't done so already.