"1408"

Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom
Starring: John Cusack, Samuel
L. Jackson, Mary McCormick
Rating: PG13 (for adult lan
guage, minor violence, scary im
ages)
Running time: 94 minutes
Best suited for: the "old fash
ioned" haunted-house fan
Least suited for: the "new
fangled" haunted-house fan
Acorn Rating Guide:

Not too long ago it seemed the horror film had taken a turn toward the extreme. Periodicals like New York magazine and Entertainment Weekly were calling this new subgenre "torture porn," referring to those films that took old-fashioned "boo!" moments and turned them into visual shock-fests- an amputation here, a disembowelment there, a quaint beheading or two.

Horror, you see, had to keep up with the cinematic Joneses. Killer special effects were spearheading action thrillers and science fiction and graphic novel adaptations like "Sin City" and "300." Even CGIladen kiddie flicks were becoming uber-fast and ultra-furious. So why not horror? Wasn't it the horror film, after all, that had invented the special effect?

Some claim it was Eli Roth's "Hostel" (2005) that begat "torture porn"- although one can clearly see indications in films like "Saw" and "Cube" and Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses."

Personally, I can see foretelling attributes in Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" (1987), a film I happen to love. (Hey, blame my parents.) Truth be told, I also love Tobe Hooper's original (1974) "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," if only because it's the one film that freaked me out more than "The Exorcist." While perhaps not essential criteria for every film buff, any flick that makes me sleep with the bedroom lights on for a night or two deserves its place of honor. (And this from a guy who actually owns Deodato's "Cannibal Holocaust.)

But I digress.

Because "1408" isn't one of those films. It's a throwback to the kinder, gentler (in a manner of speaking) horror film, the kind that giddily throws a few edgeofyourseat scares- not body parts- at you. Yes, it's based on a Steven King story, and, yes, King's fans will likely notice a few slight similarities with his other trappedinahotel opus, "The Shining."

Yet director Mikael Hafstrom takes all the opulent grandeur of "The Shining" and reduces it to one claustrophobic but otherwise innocuous, big city hotel room, locks the door, throws away the key (literally) and invites us to spend the night.

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a ghostbuster of sorts, a horror writer who makes a living debunking tales of random hauntings and uppity poltergeists. He learns one day of Manhattan's second-rate Dolphin Hotel and room 1408 in particular. Seems a plethora of suicides have occurred there. The staff is afraid to even enter the room. It's been closed off to occupants for a decade, but Mike seems particularly smitten with debunking this particular old wives' tale.

Mr. Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), the hotel manager, doesn't want Mike to spend the night. He's convinced the room is indeed haunted, and does his best to persuade Mike to leave.

"It's pure evil," Mr. Olin warns, in the way only Samuel L. Jackson can make one sit up and take notice. (Frankly, I'd have gone home.) But of course, the warning only heightens Mike's curiosity.

Once inside . . . well, let's just say it's not another carefree romp at the Four Seasons. Let's just say my wife hopped out of her seat more than once. Let's just say that even though you know the slowly opening, creaking doors, the sudden power failures, the ghostly flickers of motion in mirrors are all thoroughly crafted to start your heart racing- you can't help yourself. Your heart races.

And poor Mike. Is he imagining these things? Is he slowly going insane, or is room 1408 really evil? Does Mr. Olin have some nefarious intention or are those bumps in the night really just bumps inside Mike's head? And what is Mike's secret anyway . . . his aversion to New York? What horrible memories will room 1408 dredge up?

And will we know before morning?

It's that sort of film- one part Hitchcock, one part Steven King and one part oldfashioned spook fest. If you like your scary moments without fingers or toes or arms or legs attached, I suspect "1408" will be the perfect edge-of-your-seat treat for you.