1408 (Widescreen Edition)
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Movie Reviews of 1408 (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: One Hell of a Hotel Room
Summary: 4 Stars
Unlike myself, writer Mike Enslin (John Cusack) hates hotel rooms.
Enslin's distaste, however, is quite understandable. The man makes his living travelling back-and-forth across America, dubunking hotels with reputations for being haunted. So far, Enslin has never encountered anything more spooky in a room other than creaky floorboards or over-eager owners hoping to get a mention in one of his books. Thus it is only natural for him to be quite skeptical of the warnings from the Dolphin Hotel's manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) about Room 1408. It seems that within the last hundred years over 50 people had died horrific deaths in that room. And, ever since one of the housekeepers gouged out her own eyes while alone in that room , not even hotel staff will work in there unless it is in pairs, at 10 minute intervals, keeping the door open at all times. As Olin puts it (delivered in classic Samuel L. Jackson style), "Nobody has said anything about a ghost. I'm telling you it's just an evil motherf***ing room."
Enslin is too cynical a man to take any of this seriously (and we do have a horror movie to watch). But within minutes of entering 1408, when the bedside alarm clock begins playing the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun," and then proceeds to set itself into countdown mode for one hour, Enslin is beginning to think he finally just might have stumbled onto the real thing. Unfortunately and sadly for him.
1408 is a horror film in the classic genre. A supernatural force of pure Evil undeniably possesses this room. Whatever -literally- is at play here, tears into Enslin's mind, finding his losses and regrets, and his own self-loathing to relentlessly attack him both physically and psychologically. Like Orwell's dreaded Room 101 with a supernatural twist, your worst fears await you in Room 1408.
Movie Review: (3.5 STARS) Above Average Stephen King Adaptation with John Cusack's Strong Acting
Summary: 4 Stars
The story is pretty simple. A man stays in a cursed room in a New York Hotel. The Dolphin Hotel's "Room 1408" is actually "an evil room," the hotel manager says, where more than 50 guests have committed suicide there (one drowned in his chicken soup). Ignoring the warning words of the manager, a jaded writer Mike Enslin checks in the room where he encounters a series of creepy events. Mike, who doesn't believe in these paranormal events, must endure the terrifying 60 minutes there.
Had it not been for John Cusack who plays the skeptic protagonist Mike, "1408" could have been an unwatchable mess. John Cusack and his strong acting successfully provide tension and occasional humor to the familiar story while the superb production designs and the photography of the dimly-lit interiors give the film an authentic feel. Samuel L. Jackson appears as the hotel manager Gerald Olin, but his role is just an extended cameo and the film is virtually about Cusack's hero and the room itself.
However, in spite of its gripping first half, the film gradually loses steam, not knowing where to go. Whatever the room does, the room does anyway, and there are not many options it can eventually take. The Carpenters song is a nice touch, but director Mikael Håfström takes too much time to lead us to the climax, and some of the tricks you will see are nothing new and sometimes look repetitious.
"1408," based on a Stephen King short, has familiar elements seen in numerous haunted house stories (in book or film) of the past, most notably, "The Shining" - both stories centering on isolated space, for example - but their approach is different. I enjoyed watching "1408" for the most part, but it is also true that I couldn't shake off the feeling that I saw it all elsewhere.
Movie Review: Truly Creepy and Scary in the best horror tradition
Summary: 4 Stars
The modern "horror" film has degenerated into genre of "dead teenager" films - where attractive young people run into some "unspeakable evil" person(s) who spends the rest of the film maiming the attractive young people and the "gotcha" movie set in a haunted place and characterized by the sudden appearance of a ghoul (or cat...) punctuated by a sudden chord on the soundtrack.
Not that long ago "horror" works (written and on film) used the audience's own imagination to get under your skin. "1408", based on a Stephen King story, harkens back to that idea - terrifying you with what's on the screen, but even more with what is SUGGESTED on the screen, with you filling in the blanks.
John Cusack is great at playing likable guys and here he plays the King surrogate (aren't all of King's stories either about writers or set in Maine? but I digress...) Mike Enslin is a published, but not on the King/Rowling circuit, writer. He travels between "haunted" places and bookstores, debunking the "haunted" places, but writing about them in his books. (Ten Haunted Houses, Ten Haunted Lighthouses, etc.)
He receives a postcard for the Dolphin Hotel in New York with a warning to not go into room 1408. He goes.
There is a nice scene of exposition with Samuel Jackson as the hotel manager who gives a 100 year history of this evil f-ing room, all but begging Enslin not to go there.
But you know he will...
The next act is almost all up to Cusack, with increasingly eerie and terrifying things happening in the room which he finds out too late has no way out...
Deserves to be ranked with Horror's most watchable and creepy films.
Movie Review: Another solid king adaptation
Summary: 4 Stars
Steven King has long been a favorite author of mine and 1408 is just another basic example of his work. I quite liked this movie adaptation but I have yet to read the original story. While the movie is not particularly scary, it certainly has a creepiness all its own. There a few twists and turns including one very big and...shall I say, misleading, one in the latter half of the film. My main concern with this movie on the other hand, is that it includes a lot of back-story and other plot elements that don't seem to flesh out or get explained at all by the end of the film
1408's acting isn't really much to talk about but it is quite good nonetheless. John Cusack's character is a rather typical caricature of the cynical man who "believes in nothing but himself" and has a dry sarcastic comment for everything. The movie spends the largest amount of its time around Mike Enslin for obvious reasons. I haven't really seen him act in much else but he certainly does a good job in this movie especially since he was forced to act by himself and respond terrified to nothing. Samuel Jackson acts pretty much the same as he does in most of his movies but with significantly less yelling. The first exchange between the two characters in particular is a fine display of their acting talent.
All together, 1408 is entertaining enough that a second view can be just as enjoyable as the first even after all the twists have been exposed. Eventually I'd like to see more Steven King adaptations but for now this is one of my favorites (second to Secret Window). If you enjoy a creepy but fun film or are a big Steven King fan than I certainly recommend this film.
Movie Review: Best Watched in a Dark Room
Summary: 4 Stars
I had no idea what this film was about; nor, for that matter, have I ever read a Steven King novel. Yes, I know that he writes horror stores but that is the extent of my knowledge. So, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed "1408".
The essence of the story is that Mike Enslin (John Cusack) plays a cynical writer who pens reviews of supposedly haunted hotel rooms. And why wouldn't he be cynical? Stories of haunted rooms are a dime a dozen and who believes in ghosts? Well, certainly not Mike Enslin.
After receiving some anonymous mail, Enslin books into room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in Manhattan. He is implored by the hotel manager (Samuel L Jackson) not to choose the room. There have apparently been countless largely unexplained deaths in that very room. Enslin, however, is a persistent man and he will not be convinced of the dangers.
At first glance, the room seems totally unremarkable. But, after a short time, strange and sometimes chilling things begin to happen. I can say that at times I was given goose bumps. This film is largely able to find that delicate balance between schlock and horror. This is a rare achievement as the film industry is littered with movies that are often trapped by the former whilst forgetting the latter.
Without spoiling the remaining plot of the film, there is an explanation for much of the various unexplained events. Yet, it wouldn't be a good horror story without a twist in its tail. And this one also has a good twist. Enjoy! Best viewed in a darkened room.