Well, just read.  Again.  After watching the movie over the weekend.  I must say, I was intensely curious as to how, exactly, the director was going to extend the one of the shortest stories in the collection Everything’s Eventual in order to make a feature length film.  The answer is:  make up a whole new subplot and thrown in a whole bunch of good actors.  I can’t fault John Cusack or Samuel L., but where the heck did a dead daughter come into the story of an evil room?  And why do King’s personal comments on the story become lines of the main character?  Funny, but hey.  C’mon.

And, spoiler here, what’s the deal with him dying at the end?  That didn’t happen in the short story now.  I was looking forward to him getting out for two hours and then he dies?!  Man, how disappointing.  And eerily similar to “Being John Malkovich”.  Was it the same director?  I’m too lazy to check.

Things I thought could have been played up from the story:  there was no bowl of fruit picture!!  That was a main focus, wasn’t it?  That crazy, orangey apple.  I loved that apple.

Things that were done better in the movie:  the whole scene where Cusack takes a walk on the ledge and there are no windows on the whole building.  When he comes back in the fire exit map is blacked out except for 1408.  Nice piece of visual emphasis.  See also, the old man in the air duct and the Cusack twin across the way.  Freaky!

But, on the whole, a little disappointing.  Glad it was a $3 movie instead of a $13 one.

Story – still worth $13.  and you get the rest of the book as well.