1408

Went to see a screening of 1408 sponsored by the WGAE. Weird that they would have a screening of it after it opened, without any Q&A attached (but I ain't complainin bout a free movie). Weirder still that they held it at the Regal E-Walk Theater @ 42nd Street, when the AMC across the street already had it playing.

Horror movies are a real challenge to construct because everyone's seen it all, and everyone knows so much about how movies are made that it's hard to get the audience into a "fight or flight" state where they feel like anything can happen.

I was familiar with "1408" as a short story. It was eventually included in one of Stephen King's short story compilations, but it debuted years earlier, as an exclusive audiobook compilation of stories read by the author—which is how I was introduced to it. Stephen King is not the best reader/actor, but he can be a good craftsman. And I liked the story.

But it's a wisp of a story. No big spoilers here, but in essence: hotel manager warns writer not to go into room 1408 for the first half, writer goes into room 1408 and crazy shit happens in the second half.

So, IMHO, 1408 was even more of a challenge to adapt. And it's a testament to the writers, the director and the cinematographer that they managed to carry it off so well. I was surprised at how much I liked this little motherfucker.

In other news, have I made the point here that I was unsatisfied with the ending of The Sopranos? Is the horse dead yet? Bueller?

I know how this dog feels.