Tim Cook <z99### [at] bellsouthnet> wrote:
> Ok, so I just read (skimmed, really), Stephen King's "IT".

....

Ironically enough, I was also about to rant about Stephen King.  In my case
though, we just watched "1408".

So a man who lost his faith in God after his daughter died became a professional
Ghost hunter and writer (wait - isn't this also the premise for Casper? :)  I'm
actually OK with that, however, since it's not the basic idea that's important,
but what you do with it).

Most of the movie focuses on his spending 1 hour in a particular room (guess
which number), where he undergoes almost completely random crap.

The main problem with it, is that most of the things that happen are completely
*random*.  There seems to be a requirement that the room can't kill you
directly, that it must make you commit suicide; and some of the experiences the
main character goes through are personalized for him, but most of it seems to be
thrown in just to surprise you.

Maybe I've been spoiled by Stephen R. Donaldson, but the whole idea of putting a
character through hell in order to convince them to commit suicide... it just
seems like such a fertile idea for character development to be wasted by random
spooks.  The thrills and chills should be tailored to the victim, not just
pulled out of a hat.  (That would also offer the character a greater victory,
but that depends on whether or not he succumbs in the end.  Given that it's
supposed to be a "horror" movie, he could die in the end).

As it is, the seeming randomness of it made it completely pointless.  And all of
this is aside from the fact that it wasn't even scary :)

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