A one man show designed to make you think about the reality of terror

Rating: 7/10 (19 November 2012)

First of all, I'd like to point out that this is not a horror film in the conventional sense: it is Stephen King at his most imaginative.
John Cusack plays the role of a cynical writer bent on debunking haunted hotel/haunted mansion/haunted anything stories who receives a postcard from a New York hotel, The Dolphin on 45th and Lexington, with a warning not to stay in Room 1408. His interest piqued, he sets out to include this room as a closer for his latest book - 10 Haunted Hotels.
Samuel Jackson plays a stunning cameo role as the hotel manager determined to prevent Cusack from staying in the room, even to the extent of giving him a file on all the deaths that have taken place in it. Nevertheless, Cusack won't be swayed.
The rest of the film I leave for you to enjoy. It's a visual and directorial masterpiece where the viewer can have no idea what the ending is actually going to be, so I shall not spoil it for you here. Just remember, this film actually feels more like a one-man-show theatre piece than a fully-cast film. Stylistically it's claustrophobic with most of the weight of the plot being borne only by Cusack. Actually, everyone else in the film can really be regarded as having only cameo roles.
I've only awarded 7/10 simply because I found the film rather uneven in tone in places and I have a tendency to dislike films where the ending isn't completely resolved. Otherwise I would give John Cusack a 10 for his excellent acting and another 10 for the exquisite decor