Drawing stamina from a lean, terrifying Stephen King short story, Mikael Hafstrom’s semi-successful creep show dilutes the horror by dishing out the dime-store psychology, turning the titular haunted hotel room into a Freudian funhouse. John Cusack, one of the most sensible and straight-thinking actors of his or any generation, gives an anxious performance as a skeptical ghost hunter who suddenly finds himself face to face with a tangible evil. His swift downslide into psychosis (like Jack Nicholson’s trajectory in The Shining) provides plenty of rooting interest. This is more a snack than a full meal, but the few smatterings of imagination (such as the surreal scene in which the protagonist scales the hotel wall) are worth any horror maven’s time.
8 comments:
I haven't seen this, bu it sounds similar to Roman Polanski's thrillers (particularly The Tenant). Would you make such a comparison?
I love your succinct reviews. And I'm glad that you're doing current releases now! I'm hoping to catch this one when it passes through the dollar theater.
Jeri, definitely catch it when it hits the La Mirada 7. It's worth seeing for Cusack. You like Cusack, don't you? Of course you do!
Jeremy, the Polanski comparison isn't entirely unearned. There is one moment in particular that pretty much rips off The Tenant. But Polanski was always able to accomplish more with less, and the special effects tend to take over in this one. The original short story, however, is probably the most goose-fleshing I've ever read.
Of course I like Cusack! Have you seen the previews for Grace is Gone yet? I've heard a lot of buzz about that one and am looking forward to seeing it.
Huh, maybe I'll have to read the story. I give King a shot every couple years, but I'm almost always disappointed by him. Cusack, though--I'll watch just about anything with him in it. (Hmm... how many times did I watch Better Off Dead when I was a kid?)
...the few smatterings of imagination (such as the surreal scene in which the protagonist scales the hotel wall) are worth any horror maven’s time.
I originally misread your parenthetical statement as meaning that Cusack surreally walks up the inside wall of his hotel room and, I figured, then across the ceiling, so when I saw it Monday night I spent the entire movie waiting for a scene that never happened! At least the ending was a surprise (not in itself but because it ended before this nonexistent scene occurred).
I now realize I mentally conflated your comment with a scene I saw recently in Hour of the Wolf where that does happen!
I thought it started great with Sam Jackson building up the suspense despite Cusack's expectation and downplaying of it, but I don't remember anything suspenseful after the wall-scaling scene that is in the movie.
The fact that the outcome of Cusack's experience was an exception to the room's previous history was the primary shortcoming for me. Did the short story have a similar ending? (Email me if it's too spoilerific.)
The protag survives in the short story as well, if that's what you mean. I see it as sort of a more intimiate version of The Shining, with a less pessimistic sprawl.
I tend to hate this type of movie (and most Steven King movies), but thought this one was okay. It had great potential and a great character in Cusack's skeptic, but used a few too many cliches. I did enjoy that the movie wasn't about scaring the audience - it was about scaring the main character. The horror of one's own conscience, too, makes the story more interesting. Sadly, there were a few scenes in which Ric and I just laughed, but overall, I was okay with it.
Post a Comment