No, it's not a movie about the natives of Aiyati before the Spanish showed up.

It's about a guy. A guy who doesn't like himself, or his work very much. A guy who doesn't give much of a damn anymore. A guy who gets lost easy, on dark, stormy nights.

It's about a guy who can't write, can't surf, and can't be a husband anymore.

He's also got no taste in clothes, drinks too much, and breaks all the basic rules of ghost hunting.

He's not a guy I'd want on my paranormal investigation team, that's for sure. And he raids the minibar. At $8 a can of beer nuts, that's one expensive mooch.

Oh yeah. And the movie? If you don't mind looking at John Cusack's FACE for 2 hours, it's not really that bad. The first 3/4 is actually damn good. Then it jumps the shark in typical Steven King fashion, and goes from scary as hell to the Twilight Zone would refuse this garbage. As I said. Typical Steven King fashion. Pity, because the first 3/4 was actually really good. And for once, it was sort of amusing to watch JC jump and scream and let it all hang out.

Hm. And since I'm at it...if you like ANYTHING by Steven King, you'll probably like this. Everyone's already comparing it to The Shining because it's about a washed up, alienated, probably insane writer in a creepy hotel...but that's where the similarity really ends. It reminds me very strongly of much of Hitchcock's work...but with a Twilight Zone cheesiness that's as inescapable as Bobby Ewing's shower scene. You mean it was all a dream? Not, exactly, but close. It did also remind me of Silent Hill 4, which is not a movie but a video game...but equally high in the spook the crap out of you "BOO" factor.

4 and a half smelly, stale, and dubiously stained hotel matresses.

CJ