1408

The Dolphin Hotel invites you to stay in any of its stunning rooms... except one.

1408 (15)

D: Mikael Hafström

Paramount (Lorenzo di Bonaventura)

USA 🇺🇸 2007

104 mins

Horror

W: Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander & Larry Karazewski [based on the short story by Stephen King]

DP: Benoit Delhomme

Ed: Peter Boyle

Mus: Gabriel Yared

John Cusack (Mike Enslin), Samuel L. Jackson (Gerald Olin), Mary McCormack (Lily Enslin), Tony Shalhoub (Sam Farrell)

A very decent haunted house (hotel) movie based on a story by horror maestro Stephen King and not a million miles away from the plot to his earlier work, The Shining.

While this falls well short of the author's finest works, it's still very entertaining mostly due to John Cusack's performance, which practically carries the whole movie entirely on his own.

After a promising opening, which starts almost as a black comedy or parody featuring a creepy encounter with hotel owner Samuel L. Jackson, cynical "haunted hotel" reviewer John Cusack checks into the mysterious room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel, which has seen 56 deaths during the 90-odd years the hotel has existed.

The evils Cusack encounters in the room range from eerily effective to laughably ridiculous and the narrative switches completely towards the tail end of the film, when it's not so much about a haunted hotel, but rather a haunted man and it's all due to John Cusack's excellent work carrying the film with a strong performance. The movie's parting shot is also quite creepily rewarding. A solid horror movie which doesn't have to resort to blood and gore to give you the chills.

6/10