1408

Horror, Thriller

John Cusack	Mike Enslin
Mary McCormack	Lily Enslin
Samuel L. Jackson	Gerald Olin
Tony Shalhoub	Sam Farrell
Jasmine Jessica Anthony	Katie
Emily Harvey	Secretary
Noah Lee Margetts	Bellboy Noah
William Armstrong	Clay
Paul Birchard	Mr. Innkeeper
Margot Leicester	Mrs. Innkeeper
Walter Lewis	Book Store Cashier
Eric Meyers	Man #1 at Book Signing
David Nicholson	Man #2 at Book Signing
Holly Hayes	Lady at Book Signing
Alexandra Silber	Young Woman at Book Signing
Johann Urb	Surfer Dude
Andrew Lee Potts	Mailbox Guy

Director	Mikael Hafstrom; Mikael Håfström
Producer	Lorenzo di Bonaventura; Kelly Dennis
Writer	Scott Alexander; Larry Karaszewski; Matt Greenberg

Based on a story by suspense master Stephen King, 1408 is a gripping "roller-coaster of a head trip" (Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly) that will have you on the edge of your seat. John Cusack delivers "a tour de force performance" (Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter) as a skeptical writer investigating paranormal events. When he insists on staying in the reportedly haunted room in 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel against the grave warnings of the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson), he discovers the room's deadly secret an evil so powerful, no one has ever survived an hour within its walls. In the tradition of King's The Shining and Misery, 1408 is "a psychologically thrilling movie that leaves you gasping in the end" (Desiree Belmarez, Denver Post).

If elements of 1408 seem a little familiar, it shouldn't be a surprise. Here's John Cusack, once again having lodging problems (see also Identity). Here's a supernatural debunker faced with something that refuses to be debunked (see also The Reaping). And here's a movie about a room-for-rent where people go in but don't come out (see also Vacancy). Yet, despite all of these recycled plot elements bobbing around, there's nothing stale about 1408, which is easily the best horror film of 2007. Too often, we see a movie with a great setup like this ruined by a subpar ending. However, 1408 deftly sidesteps that trap, delivering a conclusion that somehow manages not to disappoint while at the same time leaving things open-ended enough that viewer interpretation comes into play.