From Film School Rejects:
As I am writing this review I’ve just returned from seeing “1408″ and I’m house sitting for some friends. It’s just me and Murphy (their dog) in this quiet house. After seeing “1408″ I have to admit I am a little spooked at the moment. That alone would render it a passable horror film but it’s not the only positive characteristic the film has. It’s much better than average. As someone who doesn’t have much taste for the horror genre, I would classify “1408″ as a first rate thriller. It’s not that I’m not for the genre, it’s that I think most horror films are awful movies and they almost never have anything clever to say and are only there for blood and gore.
However, “1408,†like most Stephen King stories, has more on its mind than just blood and gore. In fact, you’ll find little of both in this film. “1408″ is one that gets into your head and sticks with you after you’ve left the theater.
The opening credits may tell you the film stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, but it’s really just Cusack. Seriously, Jackson is in the film for like ten minutes. With all due respect to the acting abilities of Mr. Jackson, “1408″ is really a one man show and an impressive one at that. It’s Cusack’s picture from beginning to end and he does his fair share of heavy lifting by putting this film on his back and carrying it all the way through.
Cusack plays Mike Enslin, a horror writer who has written books with titles like “The 10 Scariest Graveyards†and the one he is currently working on is called “The 10 Scariest Hotel Rooms.†He’s in search of a real encounter with poltergeists and whenever someone says their hotel is haunted, he sets out to see for himself if it is or not and he records each stay like a chapter for his book.
One day, he gets a postcard in his mail from the Dauphin Hotel in New York and on the back it reads “Don’t go into 1408.†It gets Mike’s attention and he quickly books a stay at the hotel. When he arrives, he is greeted by the hotel manager, Gerald Olin (Jackson). Olin begs and bribes Mike not to stay in 1408, claiming that 56 people have died in that room and no one has ever lasted more than an hour. He tells Mike: “I don’t want to have to clean up the mess.†Of course, Mike doesn’t listen and chooses to see it for himself like he always does.
From here “1408″ is like a state-of-the-art haunted house at a fair. Mike walks in thinking everything is just fine and dandy (“It’s just a roomâ€) and then all hell breaks loose. Starting with the alarm clock coming on by itself gag, the thrills and chills come like one sucker punch after another and keep you grasping your armrest. I guess the reason I liked the film is its psychological approach. Is Mike really being terrified by an axe murderer or is he losing his mind? “1408″ concentrates on the latter part and then expands on it. Like the cunning warrior, it goes after the heart and torments Mike with his troubled past.
Director Mikael Hafstrom seems to have gotten the right touch and mood with this picture and never once goes overboard. He also deserves credit by making elements that have been used before still feel fresh. The film is well structured with a nicely twisted ending that leaves you thinking and it leaves the scary parts right where they belong structure wise, in the middle. Cusack is like the one man marching band here, making everything work on his own. He is essentially the key to the film’s success but “1408″ probably could have benefited from a few more helpings of Sam. But overall, I was pleasantly surprised and unpleasantly spooked by “1408″. Gotta go, the stereo just mysteriously popped on by itself!
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