1408

Before I begin this review of the film 1408 I have to declare that I am a huge John Cusack fan.
Based on a Stephen King short story 1408 is about writer Mike Enslin (Cusack), a fairly lightly taken ghost and ghouls story writer who documents the scariest places to visit and such.
Then he stumbles upon the Dolphin Hotel in New York and the room 1408 which for unknown reasons continues to feature in suicide reports in newspapers. Enslin seeks out this room for his next spooky tale.
Enter the hotel manager (Samuel L Jackson, in what is almost a cameo role) who goes to extraordinary lengths (for `selfish reasons') to dissuade Mike from spending the night in 1408.
I think you get the drift from here.
This film is very intense. It's not scary nor does it attempt the tacky thrills of movies such as Saw and the so-called horror films.
It is unsettling when you realise what the movie is really about. If you see this one expecting to see some grand twist or explanation as to why the room as it is let me spoil it for you - there isn't one. It's not about that.
We all have a past and Mike takes his with him into 1408. That's where the real scares come from.
This is all John Cusack's film, as you would expect, and he doesn't disappoint for a second. One of the final lines in the movie struck me - `bad memories can't be thrown away, you just have to live with them' - and I think this is the moral to the story.
I'm pretty confident I haven't spoiled the story. There is no mystery to be unpacked. It's all about Mike. And it's all about us.
An 8 out of 10 and worthy of a look if it appeals to you.