Review – 1408

Once again Stephen King’s writing fails to translate to the big screen. John Cusack stars as an author who specializes in travel guides to “haunted” locations. But his cynical skepticism meets its match in room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel, a spot that’s actually haunted (and by something worse than ghosts). The premise is solid, but the execution is inept. The protagonist slowly moves from one phobia to the next, so no matter what bugs you, you’ll probably find it somewhere in this parade of nastiness. Of course you’ll also have to sit patiently while someone else’s secret fears get tweaked for awhile. Overall it resembles the short story upon which it’s based by playing like a condensed version of The Shining confined to a single room rather than an entire hotel. Mildly amusing