Extremely well-directed and acted, the new suspenser "1408" is, nonetheless, a disappointment. John Cusack is Mike Enslin, a writer who pens books debunking the ghost stories of supposedly "haunted" motels. One day he gets a postcard from the Dolphin Hotel in New York with a single message: Don't stay in 1408. Intrigued, Enslin travels to New York where he manages to finagle his way into the room despite the efforts of hotel manager Samuel L. Jackson to warn him of the dangers. ("1408 is one evil fucking room," says Mr. Jackson, who's sole purpose in the movie seems to be to drop its only F bomb.) Once checked in, it doesn't take long for the room to start fucking with Mike: among other things, the toilet paper refolds itself, a window slams down on his hand and, perhaps most maddeningly, the clock radio plays the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" on a loop. And that truly is just the beginning as the room does everything it can drive Enslin crazy -- and the movie self-destructs before our eyes.
"1408" has a few chilling moments, and a nice streak of black humor, but it's setup is far more interesting than its payoff. We're never quite sure if everything is just in Enslin's head, or is really happening -- especially the reappearance of his dead daughter, a cruel touch the movie never deals with fairly. Cusack is very good here in what amounts to a one-man show for the most part; he starts off using sarcasm to deal with the otherworldly happenings, and he's quite believable when he sheds his skepticism for real fear. Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom offers some genuinely interesting shots and has a nice feel for the camera, making the small hotel room seem much larger and foreboding than it is. But the last twenty minutes are a cheat, taking us down one path and up another in an effort at a twist ending. If "1408" had set out some ground rules at the start, it may have worked. But the film's internal logic is threadbare, and by the end, its seams are showing.
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