my thoughts on.... '1408'

Sometimes, a movie won't garner enough inspiration to write a full review. Rather than mince words and spend a lot of time digging for words and content to explain what I saw on the screen, it's easier just to make it short and sweet. Hit the high points and leave you, the reader, with the opportunity to make a snap decision on whether or not it's really worth your time. This movie was a prime example of that. Stephen King's track record for big screen and small screen adaptations, is like spending an hour at the local Chinese buffet. Some of the items are delicious and will leave you wanting more (ie: 'The Shining' or 'The Mist'), others will taste like they've been sitting in the warming tray for the whole night and would have been better left alone. (ie: 'Thinner' or 'Dreamcatcher') In the cast of '1408', I'd spent years debating if I wanted to watch it or not. Granted, John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson are always entertaining to watch, but they don't guarantee a high quality product. Needless to say, I finally sat down to watch this big budget attempt at greatness and it's stuck with me long after it was over. Not because it was something I ever needed to see it again, but because it represented one of the main reasons that Hollywood seems to consistently fail at horror.

Some might say that the trend of making PG-13 fare, is the reason movies like this seem to suck. I disagree. If 'Poltergeist' taught us anything, it's that you can make a legitimately scary film with a PG rating. If you can do that, then why not PG-13? Horror isn't always about blood, guts, gore and icky stuff. It's also about having characters you care about, in situations that make you feel the need to leave your lights when you go to bed at night. Where '1408' dropped the ball, was in following the cookie cutter, by committee 2nd and 3rd act. It started out very strong and had me hopeful for something above and beyond what I was expecting and to be honest, my expectations were very low. There was a fantastic set up of the characters and a really intriguing premise. Somewhere between when John Cusack entered the room for the night and when the thermostat broke, everything fell apart. It sadly, succumbed to a bad case of Hollywood diahrrea. Less is more, people. You don't have to throw everything you can possibly think of into the story line, just to prove you can. That didn't stop them from trying and if that wasn't bad enough, it gave you a false ending and proceeded to continue spiraling downward.... until it hit rock bottom and forgot everything that it set up in the beginning. It was no longer about a room that was filled with pure evil. Instead, it was about one man's demons and being trapped in his own personal hell. Yes, that story has a purpose and is an important one to tell, but we've seen it 100 times before. It felt like oh so many warmed up leftovers from the night before. I felt cheated and didn't care anymore about anything that happened in the beginning. All I wanted it to do was end. Luckily, they got that part right.

Take your time and dig around among all of the independent films being made. Ones that are made with passion and by people who've had their whole lives to create the story they dreamed about since they were a kid. Hollywood can make a good scary movie. I've seen them. I own them. I know there will be more to come. There's just too many being produced like '1408'. Source material aside, that try too hard to be something they'll never be.... a good movie. 2 out of 5 stars.

My apologies to Stephen King. Your body of work is impressive, but this can't be included among one of the greats or even one of the mediocre. Also, my apologies to Mr. Cusack. Your resume includes so many wonderful films, however.... this isn't one of them.
If you'd rather watch some good King features, check out: 'The Shining', 'The Mist' or 'Carrie'