Just when you thought it was safe to check into a New York City hotel, along comes Mikael Hafstrom's chilling '1408.' Not since Norman Bates terrorized guests at his motel has a paying customer received such treatment during a night's lodging. For those who can remember a time when fright films had more on their minds than simple blood and gore, '1408' is like a refreshing, restorative tonic on a hot summer day. Jackson and Mary McCormack also excel in the small but crucial roles of the wise hotel manager and Enslin's estranged but faithful wife, respectively. He allows us to clearly see the fear and vulnerability hidden beneath his character's wisecracking, cynical exterior.

Cusack, who has long been underrated as a performer, gets the chance to really show us his acting chops in this role. Along with director Mikael Hafstrom, the master craftsmen responsible for the film's phenomenal art direction and sound recording draw us into the strange world they've created where nothing is quite what it appears to be and where we spend most of our time nervously scanning the edges of the frame to see what surprise is next poised to jump out at us.

The multi-layered plotting keeps us guessing from first moment to last, so that we never quite know whether what Enslin is experiencing is really happening or whether he is suffering some form of mental breakdown brought on by the death of his young daughter and the subsequent breakup of his marriage a few years back. As adapted by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, '1408' succeeds mainly by keeping it straight and simple and by focusing so intensely on the character of Enslin and his relevant back story. Determined to put an end to the 'foolishness,' Enslin moves into the room convinced he will ride out the night in utter peace and safety. The 1408 of the title refers to a room in a swanky, five-star Manhattan hotel in which, we are told, no fewer than fifty-six guests checked in but never checked out, having met their untimely demises there in the decades since the establishment opened. The twist is that Enslin is, essentially, a nonbeliever who spends most of his time and energy debunking the very subject off which he is making his living. John Cusack gives a tour-de-force performance as Mike Enslin, a successful writer who specializes in the investigation of paranormal activity with a particular emphasis on hotel rooms that have the reputation for being haunted. Based on a short story by the great Stephen King, '1408' is one of the genuine movie sleepers of summer 2007. If your horror movie tastes run less towards chainsaw-wielding maniacs and more towards things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, then this is the movie for you. A brilliantly acted, well developed version of King's short story, 1408 is a different type of horror movie, but in all the right ways. Some of the CGI usage is quite ineffective, and about two-thirds through the movie it feels like it's about to go the wrong way, but it recovers well for the final act, and its haunting ending ensures that you'll remember it long after you leave the theatre. However, that's not to say that it doesn't lose its way occasionally. Each challenge thrown up by the room takes the movie somewhere new and unexpected, ensuring that the movie never really gets tired or repetitive, and as a result each scene in the room is tense, surprising, and very, very creepy. While it's relatively light on big scares, 1408 instead creates a powerful sense of unease that combines wonderfully with Cusack's portrayal of a man enduring his own private hell. It is a challenge that Cusack rises to expertly we all know he's a good actor and a brilliant everyman (I don't remember a film in which I've wanted to see him crash and burn), but 1408 allows him to display his range to great effect as the room confronts him with the physical dangers of the present and the emotional tragedies of his past. Save for, of course, whatever lurks inside 1408. It soon becomes apparent that 1408 is not your standard horror movie, as what follows, after an enjoyably creepy encounter with hotel manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L Jackson), is essentially 90 minutes of John Cusack in a room. That is, of course, until he receives an invitation to Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel, a room in which lies his and arguably John Cusack's biggest challenge yet. He is the author of books that detail and debunk popular ghost stories and haunted hot-spots, and it quickly becomes obvious that he is somewhat disenchanted with the life that he leads. Please note that this review refers to the theatrical version, and not the Director's Cut DVD release which features a completely different ending.

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