Tags: Charles S. Dutton | David Koepp | John Turturro | Johnny Depp | Maria Bello | Timothy Hutton

Once considered 'box office poison', these days Johnny Depp's name alone has seats filling up in cinemas.

Still reeling from his Pirates of the Caribbean success, Johnny Depp leaps from kooky pirate to play a disturbed, frazzled writer in Secret Window, an adaptation of Stephen King's novella Secret Window, Secret Garden.

In true horrific style, Depp's character Mort Rainey is about to discover that just when you think things couldn't get any worse, they do.

Emotionally wrenched from a recent divorce due to infidelity (hers not his) and suffering from an unfortunate bout of writer's block, Rainey hides up in the mountains clad in flimsy bathrobes and sweet misery.

His reclusive sojourn is interrupted by the appearance of John Shooter (John Turturro) who accuses Rainey of plagiarising his work years ago. Weird events ensue and the implications of Shooter's accusation grow ever more sinister.

While the film can rest on the laurels of Stephen King's reputation, it is truly Depp's performance that holds your attention. The material thins out towards the end, ending with a thud rather than a big slam.