I read the Stephen King story long ago - so long that I don't remember anything about it - but had never actually seen the film adaptation of 1408 (2007) until I sat down and watched it last night. It's a straightforward little production in which John Cusack plays a sceptical ghost hunter who arranges to spend a night in a supposedly cursed hotel room, and what follows can perhaps be called a rite of passage as we see him gradually succumbing to the room's insidious presence.
For me, this one's a film of two halves. I actually really enjoyed the first half. Cusack is great in the role and it's essentially a single-hander with him in the room gradually losing his mind. It reminded me of Bruce Campbell in THE EVIL DEAD. Sadly, the second half turns into pure fantasy and gets weighed down with all the emotional trauma, dream sequences and extra characters and I felt it lost something along the way and became quite muddled.
For me, this one's a film of two halves. I actually really enjoyed the first half. Cusack is great in the role and it's essentially a single-hander with him in the room gradually losing his mind. It reminded me of Bruce Campbell in THE EVIL DEAD. Sadly, the second half turns into pure fantasy and gets weighed down with all the emotional trauma, dream sequences and extra characters and I felt it lost something along the way and became quite muddled.