Movie Review: '1408'

Yes, this is yet another Stephen King book adaptation. But before you dismiss it out of hand you should know that not only is 1408 the spookiest horror for quite some time, it is also the best King spook adaptation since The Shining .

Based on the short story that appeared in King collection Everything's Eventual, 1408 follows the exploits of paranormal debunker Mike Enslin (John Cusack – The Ice Harvest ). The author of two bestsellers discrediting the belief that infamous houses and hotels are haunted, Enslin on all his travels has never seen any actual proof of the existence of an afterlife. But his phantom-free run of investigations is about to come to an abrupt end after he checks into fabled suite 1408 of the notorious Dolphin Hotel. On this particular night he will face genuine terror and a fight for his very survival…

An unsettling, creepy, under-your-skin, visceral chiller, 1408 is a smart return to the classic psychological frightener at a time when most other horror movies are just trying to out-gross each other ( Saw series, Hostel II , Captivity ). Utilising a slow, subtle build from the start, after director Mikael Håfström (Derailed) has Cusack's Enslin check into the titular room, a mounting sense of unease ensues as the ghostly games immediately begin. The scares then go swiftly full blown and on to edge-of-your-seat, spine-tingling terror.

A veritable one-man tour-de-force, 1408 eschews conventional storylines by confining Cusack to one room for almost its entirety. It was a smart move, therefore, to cast so accomplished an actor as Cusack for us to spend 90-odd concentrated minutes with.

An actor who always fills his characters with nuance and likeability, Cusack doesn't fail to pull off the same trick here, depicting his arrogant and brash, smartass writer with submerged but palpable levels of depth.

His impressive performance is ably enhanced by the creative visuals dreamt up by Håfström, including a strong use of contrast and shadow along with old style, scratchy ghost images, all supported by a moody, unsettling score. Added together these all make for an arresting experience and mark Håfström down to be watched as a growing talent.

A solid, spooky movie in a world of gore gone mad, 1408 is a horror flick that, for once, is well worth checking out.

Three-and-a-half stars out of five