tomelce's Review

Summary - Very Good 3.5

Film adaptations of Stephen King’s work generally range from the great (“Stand By Me,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile”) to the god-awful (“Pet Sematary,” “Firestarter”) with a good few falling in between. For the latest, director Mikael HÃ¥fström adapts “1408” (taken from King’s 2003 anthology “Everything’s Eventual”) to the screen to very good effect. It is a classical ghost story set in a single hotel room that proves capable of sending shivers up the spine without buckets of blood and severed limbs galore.

Acting - Very Good 3.5

John Cusack is superb as Mike Enslin, an author who travels around the world debunking paranormal activity only to get more than he bargained for when checking into room “1408” of the New York City Dolphin Hotel. In almost every single scene of the film, he doesn’t falter once in what stands as one of the most outstanding portrayals of his career. Further good support comes from Samuel L. Jackson, as the hotel’s warning-spouting manager; Mary McCormack, as Mike’s estranged wife Lily; and Jasmine Jessica Anthony as Mike’s deceased daughter Katie, who makes an appearance as one of the ghosts in his hotel room that is perhaps more disturbing than any other I saw last year.

Film - Great 4.0

Strictly speaking, “1408” is a visual joy to behold, Benoit Delhomme cinematography and HÃ¥fström’s pitch-perfect directing capturing on-screen some of the most effective and frightening effects of last year. If the screenplay perhaps doesn’t hold major weight (as is a given, Samuel L. Jackson has the routine omens to pass out) from a realism standpoint, it makes no matter, because the general production quality of “1408” is good enough for such faults to be forgiven.

Edge - Risqué 1.7

Reality - Supernatural 3.2

It is a ghost story, after all.

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