Ladies and gentlemen, in all of his quirky – if faded – glory, I give you John Cusack. Taking a break from runaway juries and serenading women, Cusack now plays the part of Mike Enslin, a cynical writer who loves to expose faux haunts and practically seems to embodies bitterness itself. But Enslin may have bitten off more than he can chew after he ventures through the warned-against doorway of ill-fated room 1408.

Cue the spooky orchestra music as the ever-frightening Samuel L. Jackson, who plays hotel manager Mr. Olin, cautions Cusack away from the haunted spot. You’d think that Jackson’s grizzly way of commanding “”Do not stay in that room”” would be enough to scare off anybody – but not Cusack. In the beaten-to-death haunt genre, a jaded, seemingly untouchable writer getting the bejesus scared out of him might send a few chills our way as well (if only because some scenes actually contain snow). True, it looks like all the good parts are in the trailer and yes, the whole haunted-hotel bit has been done by Stephen King before, and undoubtedly better (ahem, “”The Shining””), but perhaps we should look at “”1408″” as the unofficial sequel to the beloved classic – just to a slightly swankier spot, and without a creepy, annoying little tike running around screaming “”Redrum!”” until it rings in our ears eternally.

If nothing else, this recycled spooker is guaranteed to feature plenty of “”Look behind you!”” moments and jump-worthy “”Don’t poke that dead guy!”” scenes. But let’s be honest – it’s probably going to be like that first sexual encounter you had in the back of your dad’s station wagon: initially thrilling, but soon you’re left sitting in awkward silence thinking, “”That’s it?”” Yeah, baby, that’s pretty much it. June 22.