[jakepunk]

What is it with Stephen King and hotels?  I remember trying to watch The Shining when I was younger, and I freaked out during the early scene when the elevator doors open up and blood rushes out.  I later read the book when I was older and enjoyed it very much.

1408 is like The Shining distilled down to one room.  I kept trying to anticipate the very first scary "Boo!" moment, but the film builds the dread slowly.  This is not a slasher flick; there is very little gore.  It is more a psychological horror movie.  It is nice to be entertained without a lot of gore.  I enjoyed the psychological aspect of the movie, and I thought Cusack's character was developed well.  There are some touches of very dark humor (the hotel operator offers "express checkout" that is quite memorable), and a certain Carpenter's song reaches the same notoriety as John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" in Final Destination.

Thumbs up.

[ajzepp]

Wow, I had the exact opposite reaction. I saw it last night on my mini-vacation in Biloxi, MS, and I thought it was absolutely awful. I saw Cusack interviewed about the film, along with a clip/trailer, and I was pretty psyched to check it out. But it really left me wanting. I thought the majority of the story was laughable, the effects were, well, ineffective, and the ending was just plain stupid.

I may have just been grumpy since I had lost a few bucks at the poker tables just prior to seeing it, because I know the critics seem to like it for the most part....it just didn't work for me.

[Ears]

The wife and I thought it was just an ok movie....but I did like it better than Evan Almighty.