Welcome back, once again. I am your humble host and DVD picker extraordinaire. I like to look through the weekly lists of upcoming releases and find a few select titles that offer something of interest and pass along my bits and pieces on to you. Anyway, this week's list offers up much of interest, but nothing that really screams out as a must buy. Still, there is one title that climbed its way to the top, and now that October is here it is even more appropriate as a selection. Anyway, read on for the pick and a few other select titles.

This week's top pick is a recent film, so recent that it can actually still be seen on the big screen. It is a Stephen King adaptation — that's right, a Stephen King adaptation that is actually good! 1408 arrived on screens back at the end of June and opened to good reviews. As it turned out, it was a rather effective thriller that delivered scares and a story that held together right through to the end.

A movie based on a Stephen King story is always a questionable affair. More often than not, the movie is an underwhelming experience (Dreamcatcher, Lawnmower Man, Sleepwalkers). He has his good adaptations as well (The Shining, Carrie, Misery). So, it was definitely going to be a toss-up. It does have a good cast in its favor with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. Early word was good, and the trailers were also good. Well, after sitting through the movie, I am pleased to report that it delivers the goods — it's smartly written, creepy in execution, eerie in closure.

The tale offers up a lot to be inferred, lots of clues dropped, mainly surrounding our central character. A lot is hinged on Mike's (John Cusack) not believing in God, his disbelief of true supernatural occurrences, and his emotional detachment. All of this stems from the death of his daughter, something that Mike has never been able to deal with on any level. Rather than deal with any real world issues surrounding his person, he throws himself into his work of writing about the cheap thrills of haunted locations, seeking to debunk them. The room in the Dolphin Hotel is intent on proving the reality behind the supernatural, as well as making Mike come to terms with his own demons.

John Cusack is excellent in the lead role, and he really has no choice — a lesser performance would sink the project. Cusack spends most of the running time by himself, trapped inside the haunted room. He brings dry humor, cynicism, remorse, disbelief, and more into the portrayal of a man slowly going out of his mind. It is powerful, captivating, and utterly convincing. Samuel L. Jackson does a fine job in a smaller role, having one great scene when he and Cusack have a little sparring session over staying in the evil room.

Directed by Mikael Hafstrom and shot by Benoit Delhomme, 1408 looks great. There is a confined sense of dread as we move into the room through a keyhole shot of a lock mechanism. The room moves through the levels of Dante's inferno with a very hot cycle, a frozen cycle, all blended with a series of jump scares that work, as well as visions and appearances of prior tenants and family members. It is all quite stylish.