The people complaining about practicality "he could have done this" or "done that to escape" completely missed the entire point of the movie. Being in room 1408 is the visual/physical representation of him grieving, mourning and learning to move on from the untimely death of his daughter. He experiences every stage of grief at some point during the movie as he works his way through each one which is represented as a different "haunt"
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Buddy-513 July 2007If your horror movie tastes run less towards chainsaw-wielding maniacs and more towards things-that-go-bump-in-the-night, then this is the movie for you. Based on a short story by the great Stephen King, "1408" is one of the genuine movie sleepers of summer 2007.
John Cusack gives a tour-de-force performance as Mike Enslin, a successful writer who specializes in the investigation of paranormal activity with a particular emphasis on hotel rooms that have the reputation for being haunted. The twist is that Enslin is, essentially, a nonbeliever who spends most of his time and energy debunking the very subject off which he is making his living. The 1408 of the title refers to a room in a swanky, five-star Manhattan hotel in which, we are told, no fewer than fifty-six guests checked in but never checked out, having met their untimely demises there in the decades since the establishment opened. Determined to put an end to the "foolishness," Enslin moves into the room convinced he will ride out the night in utter peace and safety. He has, of course, another think coming.
As adapted by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, "1408" succeeds mainly by keeping it straight and simple and by focusing so intensely on the character of Enslin and his relevant back story. The multi-layered plotting keeps us guessing from first moment to last, so that we never quite know whether what Enslin is experiencing is really happening or whether he is suffering some form of mental breakdown brought on by the death of his young daughter and the subsequent breakup of his marriage a few years back. Along with director Mikael Hafstrom, the master craftsmen responsible for the film's phenomenal art direction and sound recording draw us into the strange world they've created where nothing is quite what it appears to be and where we spend most of our time nervously scanning the edges of the frame to see what surprise is next poised to jump out at us.
Cusack, who has long been underrated as a performer, gets the chance to really show us his acting chops in this role. He allows us to clearly see the fear and vulnerability hidden beneath his character's wisecracking, cynical exterior. Samuel L. Jackson and Mary McCormack also excel in the small but crucial roles of the wise hotel manager and Enslin's estranged but faithful wife, respectively.
For those who can remember a time when fright films had more on their minds than simple blood and gore, "1408" is like a refreshing, restorative tonic on a hot summer day. -
keiichi7322 June 2007While doing some research before reviewing 1408, I was shocked to discover that this was the first time since 2004's Riding the Bullet that a film based on a Stephen King story had gotten the big screen treatment. 1408 marks somewhat of a comeback to the silver screen for the author after mainly working with television the past couple years. Director Mikael Hafstrom has created the most atmospheric and downright tense thriller I can think of so far this year. The premise may be thin, and yeah, it doesn't always make a lot of sense. But, is it ever effective.
Mike Enslin (John Cusack) used to be a promising author until the untimely death of his young daughter, Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony). He now spends his time writing trashy paranormal novels about the world's most haunted areas. He travels the world, doing research by staying overnight at places that are supposed to be haunted, gets some colorful background info that he can use for material, and then moves on to his next job. One day, Mike receives a postcard informing him of an old hotel in New York City called the Dolphin Hotel, which is supposed to have a room that has quite the history. Doing some private research, he learns that the Dolphin has had a long and tragic history of deaths, all of them surrounding the guests that have stayed in Room 1408. Mike books the room, despite the warnings of the hotel manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson). Entering the room, nothing seems ominous at first. But then, the room itself begins to take on a life of its own, and begins tormenting Mike with various ghostly apparitions, mind tricks, and even displaying his own painful past before him in various ways.
1408 is the second thriller set around a hotel released in less than two months (the other being April's Vacancy), and is by far the superior film. The film is actually quite subtle in its way of creeping us out and disturbing us, which is a nice change of pace from the recent Hostel: Part II. Rather than bombard the audience with ghostly special effects and gore, the movie gets under your skin and goes for a much more psychological approach. The screenplay by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander, and Larry Karaszewski, wisely does not even attempt to explain Room 1408. It's just a very evil presence that can somehow look deep within troubled souls, and torture them to death with their own personal demons. In the wrong hands, this material could have been laughable. Even though the movie frequently flies into the realm of the unbelievable, it manages to somehow stay grounded.
A lot of this has to do with the fact that the film never loses its way, and become an excuse to throw as many special effects and jump scares into the movie as it possibly can. The human element of Mike Enslin is always at the center of the story itself, and its scares. The movie is built around the fact that he is forced to face his personal demons the longer he stays in his room, as well as try to keep his mind in check as various nightmarish hallucinations are paraded before him. It's much more effective than the usual characters that have passed as villains in recent paranormal films (usually gray-skinned people with hair over their faces), and it never once becomes heavy-handed or preachy. This is also a tricky balance to pull off. When the room started showing him flashbacks of Mike's own past, I grew nervous, thinking that the movie was going to start hitting us over the head with morales. Fortunately, it never once loses its sense of the eerie, and remains appropriately unsettling throughout.
At the center of the movie is John Cusack, who literally has to carry the movie almost by himself. This is essentially a one-man show for most of its running time, with fleeting apparitions being his main companions. Cusack has long been a favorite of mine, and this is one of his stronger recent roles. He not only has to carry almost the entire film on his own, but he also has to convincingly act like he is slowly going insane without hamming it up, or losing his personality. Any actor can tell you that madness is a difficult thing to depict. He strikes a very good balance, and remains believable throughout. Samuel L. Jackson is also notable in his small, but no less important, role as the manager who tries to talk Mike out of his decision to stay in the room. And then, of course, there is Room 1408, which is a character itself. The way it is constantly changing itself, right down to the paintings on the wall, creates an effectively creepy atmosphere that is continuously bizarre, but never so much so that we lose our sense to believe.
1408 succeeds where so many other films have failed in that it is not about apparitions jumping out at the actors or lurking in dark shadows. It digs much deeper for its horror than simple jolt thrills, and becomes an effectively thrilling horror film. It could be argued that the whole thing loses some weight when we apply logic to the story. But seriously, who wants to apply logic to a movie about an evil hotel room that can read your mind? When all is said and done, 1408 is a reminder of what horror can do. It can do so much more than thrill us. It can also make us laugh and leave us captivated. Perhaps what's more surprising than the fact that the movie can accomplish all that is that so few other horror films can. -
ma-cortes22 July 2012A man named Mike Enslin (John Cusack ,though Keanu Reeves was attached for playing lead role in the movie) writes books evaluating supernatural phenomena in hotels, and other haunted locations , as he specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences . Shortly thereafter Mike meets the manager of the hotel Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) and he checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel . Soon after settling in , he confronts genuine terror and stays locked-up . Later on , he gets to communicate his wife (Kate Walsh was originally cast in this film, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflict and she was replaced by Mary McCormack) by means of a computer .
This exciting film based on the terrifying story by Stephen King contains chills , thrills , suspense , and supernatural situations . The picture succeeds because the thriller , tension , suspense , as well as a superbly written script delving into the human psyche in such extreme situation and ours instinctive urges for survival . The screenplay manages to be intelligent , intriguing and thrilling , the good thing about this film is that the director made it on an acceptable budget only having to do a few sets , yet the movie works on many levels but is constantly reconfigured . Extraordinary performance from John Cusack in his second appearance in a Stephen King film adaptation , the first was Stand by Me. The picture bears certain relation with ¨The Shining¨ both movies were also shot at the same studio - Elstree, in London . The story this film was based on was almost never written ,Stephen King originally created the first few pages of '1408' for his nonfiction book, "On Writing," as an example of how to revise a first draft. The story, however, intrigued him, and he wound up not only finishing a complete draft, but adapting it for an audio-book compilation of short stories. Colorful and evocative cinematography by magnificent cameraman Benoît Delhomme . Thrilling and suspenseful musical score by Gabriel Yared who had formerly won an Academy Award for Anthony Minghella's The English patient . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Mikael Hafstrom , an expert on terror and sinister atmospheres as proved in ¨Drowning ghost¨, ¨Evil ¨, ¨The rite¨ , and of course ¨1408¨, he's now filming ¨The Tomb¨. Rating : Good , above average . The picture will appeal to Terror buffs and Joan Cusack fans .This is without a doubt a thought-provoking and mysterious film to be liked for terror fans , turning out to be one of the most original horror movies of the last years . -
johnnyboyz7 September 2008The idea behind 1408 is actually kind of cute; a sort of 'what if' scenario based on what might happen if an inanimate object was given life. We've all seen Child's Play and perhaps the less than desired sequels but here, the inanimate object given life and then forced to fall into the horror genre is a motel room a neat and effective idea. Following on from other such Stephen King adaptations, 1408 adopts the approach of putting someone in an individual location and then allowing events to unfold around them without ever letting them leave: it can be a prisoner in The Shawshank Redemption in a prison; a crippled author trapped in a lodge in Misery or a haunted motel room you cannot escape from as seen here.
1408 begins with an immediacy; a false immediacy that caught me off guard and worked really well. We get John Cusack's character Mike Enslin driving in the rain, at night and clearly lost an easy, easy set up for a horror film but what follows is him finding the motel he was looking for, staying the night and leaving the next day in some disappointment it is an anticlimax, for the character as well as for us as we have been led down a route of suspecting the film will begin its scares from the very off with a familiar set up before having everything cancelled and having the film cut to some bright, colourful shots of people surfing.
But the subject matter and choice of editing is the secret here and it mirrors the idea the director has for the anti-climax. A dark, wet and 'spooky' for the genre night is juxtaposed for shots of the sea and surfers going about their business in bright sunshine. In fact the film goes on and has its ghost hunting author of the lead role state that he hasn't ever actually even seen a ghost, which further adds to the now dead and unsuspecting atmosphere the film has decided to lay onto us. It's these early mind-games and cancelling out what we take for granted that kicks the film off wonderfully well, setting up things to come.
But Mike is drawn to a hotel called The Dolphin, and its infamous room 1408 from which the film gets its title. 1408 is a doomed, cursed room that keeps its inhabitants and renders them insane over time by basically erasing them from the face of the Earth; either that or erasing the face of the Earth around them so that the room and the individual are the only things that seem to exist. But while the film is not flawless, the exchanges and that initial thirty to forty minute trip once inside the room has more than enough ammunition to label this a successful horror film. The pleasantries and the introductions are done in a very urgent and dismissive manner; hotel hot-shot Gerald Olin (Jackson) doesn't build the room up prior to entry in a 'be careful' or a 'it's dangerous' mannerism but goes the whole hog and simply tells Mike it's a death trap and he will not survive, period.
The funny thing is that we have no reason to believe anything that initially happens in room 1408 is really all that bad. The film has given us a series of scenes prior to the main course of a night in 1408 that do not have anything to do with the horror genre, at least not conventionally: they consist of a beach scene where people surf; a public book signing and a scene in which the lead character checks their mail how many horror films would usually have their lead check their mail before heading off for the film's main plot strand? But this is what's clever about 1408, the 'scares' at the early stage consist of window's accidentally shutting on the individual's hand; taps breaking off and spraying water everywhere and the alarm radio randomly coming on to the tune of The Carpenters.
So these events could just be coincidence, indeed even Mike comes to the conclusion he has been drugged through the whiskey and complimentary mint after all the fancy build up and is imagining it all, he and us have good reason to believe it could all be fake. One of the other reasons 1408 works is because of its protagonist and how strong and independent they are the hero here is not some teenager whose reason to exist is so that they can be chased by a knife wielding maniac, Mike is a smart man who seeks these sorts of situations down and indeed uses several methods to calm himself down when everything feels a little too real he is rational and realistic.
Although the best bit about 1408 is what you might come to realise afterwards in the sense it could be a metaphorical journey for Mike given what revelations and problems arise, to do with domestic issues, later on. 1408 is his purgatory where he is forced to confront his past demons; it's a metaphor for coming to terms with what happened and who he is, especially after so many monotonous mis-fires in this job as an author. 1408 is a creepy and unnerving film that also comes across as quite smart. In my view, a success. -
planktonrules18 February 2022"1408" is a story taken from a Stephen King short story. Because it's from a short story, it's not surprising that the film has a very simple plot.
Mike (John Cusack) is the author of various parapsychology books about ghosts. One of the specialities of some of the books are haunted hotels and he spends much of his time traveling all over trying out these hotel rooms and then writing about how he saw no evidence of hauntings. However, when he checks out a lead to haunted room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel, he finds that the hotel is intent on convincing him not to stay there! In other words, while most hotels play up the haunted angle to drum up business, this place tries hard to convince folks not to stay in 1408. What follows is Mike's hellish experience staying in a room that seems less haunted and more just evil...and intent on breaking him and driving him into madness by preying on his greatest fears.
This film has one of the simplest plots I can recall and a very tiny cast. In fact, most of the film it's just Cusack and the room of evil! And, given these constraints, it's a pretty amazing horror film. Vivid, scary and very unconventional. It's NOT some typical ghost or horror story, that's for sure. And, the worst part of it? The ever-present danger that the room will once again play the Carpenter's "We've Only Just Begun"...which is does repeatedly! -
Shined Up
I decided to watch this after Polanski's "the Tenant" and that was probably a bad choice, because that film is precious.
This one consists of three elements, typical of the King formula.
The first is the expression of terror, shaped safely so that you can watch but not be personally threatened. I think this is a King invention. Here, we know WE would have taken seriously the warnings so he deserves what he gets. It relieves us.
The second element is trite, so far as I am concerned. Also a King specialty is to weave some sort of emotional trauma into the otherwise merely decorative horror. Here it is the death of our character's child, which happened before we meet him. This allows for the final zinger.
The third element is the stuff I study and that King knows well. I call it narrative folding. Situations are nested in each other. Time gets shifted, at the same time that the period in the room proceeds in real time, even with a clock counting down. Ghosts inhabit ghosts and all people are ghosts. Cold is hot. Water is land. Daughter is wife.
This is the stuff that makes the film work, and I think it is done pretty well. Its why they picked Cusak. He understands this stuff. Has since "Malkovich" and "Fidelity" and mastered in "Identity."
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching. -
Quinoa198424 June 2007It's a hit or miss thing with Stephen King movies. Sometimes there's an exceptional effort by someone with a really strong vision (eg Kubrick, De Palma), but then there are also some big blunders (Dreamcatcher comes first to mind). And then there are those that sort of lie right in the middle, as decent, unpretentious but unremarkable efforts that chill or spill into your living room or movie theater. 1408 isn't a great thriller, but for King fans it'll likely be one of the most faithful- or at least feel faithful- efforts to date, and as such it's pretty creepy and a sure-fire "gotcha" machine. The premise is vintage King: a cynical writer (Cusack) who's books go over the paranormal (with the exception of a personal book about a father and son), and gets sent an anonymous postcard about the Dolphin hotel and room 1408. The manager warns him, fervently, to not stay in the room. But he's insistent to the point where there's no turning back. Slowly, but extremely surely, things start popping up in the room, out of Elsin's own consciousness, perhaps, and as well with the environment changing (fix that heater!), and even a pint-sized version of the hotel manager (who doesn't want to see Jackon ala Indian in the Cupboard?).
It all leads up to a few good twists and turns, but good being the important word here. Unlike the unsuccessful pot-boiler Identity, which also (regrettably) starred Cusack, this isn't contrived for the sake of it. The sudden images of a man with an ax swinging at Elson, the images of ghosts jumping out of the windows (one of them, which I found extraordinary, was shown with the same marks that come with an old movie print), isolation enhanced by a lack of windows to either side, and that bottle of booze. Spiked? Probably not- this is a thrill-ride predicated on lightning-fast imagery, but too fast (it isn't Saw thank goodness), and Elsin's past, notably the death of his daughter. It's usually a conceit that the filmmaker puts in to have the central character to have a dark past loaded with sadness, but here it works effectively in how gradually it all comes out, and how the fear/acceptance of death is something just as, if not more-so, terrifying than anything else the room has to offer.
As I said, not a great film, as sometimes it has that feel of an all-too well-oiled machine by director Mikael Håfström, edging on feeling like there's a checklist somewhere of things to happen in the room to Elsin. But, as mentioned, it doesn't come off as being too unsurprising. On the contrary, there is some originality to how the special effects team- via Cusack, going through many modes of acting like it's a powerhouse audition- bring out the best of what can be offered with a horror-show amusement park. It may be in part like a ghost house, but it's a fun and exciting one, and more watchable than any other PG-13 horror film I've seen in a while. 7.5/10 -
antonioiam21 June 2007I've never seen a horror film quite like 1408--can you even call this film a "horror"? Well, it's not the horror movie we're used to seeing in this day and age. The films that are supposed to scare us nowadays are made from the same recycled junk we've been seeing for years now. Nonsensical plots are dreamed up just to make use of the exciting range of CGI. Underdeveloped characters we don't care about are tortured/murdered by a psycho for no apparent reason. Most of the intended audience for these movies isn't even scared anymore.
Let me tell you, 1408 is different. Its main intention is not to scare you (though it undoubtedly will); it wants to tell you a story. It doesn't start out as a scary movie. John Cusack plays cult writer Mike Enslin, a man who visits supposed haunted spots in order to debunk their reputations in the mildly-successful books he writes with titles such as "10 Nights in Haunted Hotels". When the room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York is brought to his attention, research tells him that the death tally in the room is in the double digits. He sees the room as a solid ending chapter for the new book he's working on.
The film is based on a Stephen King short story, which I had the pleasure of reading before I saw the film. While the film does take its creative liberties, it never forgets where it comes from. Writers Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander, and Larry Karazewski seem to be very well-read on the author, and the movie always feels just like Stephen King--if you've ever read him, you know what I'm talking about. There have been times when I've been reading a novel of his and had to tell myself, "Calm down, it's just a book." There are moments in this film of such mind-gnawing anxiety, such high-adrenaline terror that I had to tell myself, "Calm down, it's just a movie." (Note: Stephen King does recommend the film.)
Director Mikael Håfström never takes his audience's intelligence for granted. We're never beaten over the head with the same thing; the film is always headed somewhere new and exciting. The innovative ideas here are just terrific.
John Cusack is brilliant as the cynical writer with a tragic past. He's never unbelievable, and he always nails the character down perfectly. There was never a time when I wasn't rooting for Mike Enslin in 1408. There was never a time when I did not want him to get out of the room. Cusack's emotional range is really put into play here, and the casting could not have been any more dead-on.
Samuel L. Jackson gives a chilling performance as a manager who is intent on not letting Mike enter room 1408. His determination to convince Mike not to enter the room only fuels Mike's determination to enter it. Through him, we pick up on the facts about the room Mike's research couldn't provide. His warnings give us chill bumps but leave enough open so that we still don't know what we're in for.
And with room 1408, you never really know what you're in for. Who am I to ruin it for you? Just know that this is not a mystery. We will not come to understand why the room is the way it is. There are, of course, those who will be disappointed by 1408--because when all is said and done, they will find it's not a movie about a freaky hotel room, but rather the man who's trapped in that hotel room and what he finds there. -
reeves20028 October 2007I loved this movie and saw it twice in the theater. I felt John carried the film nicely and I was not bored at all like some claim they were.The effects were good, and the scene where Mike Enslin is walking along the outside ledge of the hotel 14 floors off the ground trying to escape had me panicking it was so real.I guess maybe it's my fear of heights but even now when I watch it on the DVD it's scary.SunburnM29 commented that they hated the ending because it was a typical Hollywood ending where Enslin shouldn't die because it would upset the audience.I agree with him and am grateful there is a director's cut with an alternate ending where the character does die instead of surviving the room.I prefer the alternate ending because it is more believable.The theatrical ending was stupid the way it ended. Now I want to read the Stephen King short story after watching both versions of this movie.I prefer the extended director's cut because the scene in the vent was longer and was explained better.
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Leofwine_draca1 October 2022I read the Stephen King story long ago - so long that I don't remember anything about it - but had never actually seen the film adaptation of 1408 (2007) until I sat down and watched it last night. It's a straightforward little production in which John Cusack plays a sceptical ghost hunter who arranges to spend a night in a supposedly cursed hotel room, and what follows can perhaps be called a rite of passage as we see him gradually succumbing to the room's insidious presence.
For me, this one's a film of two halves. I actually really enjoyed the first half. Cusack is great in the role and it's essentially a single-hander with him in the room gradually losing his mind. It reminded me of Bruce Campbell in THE EVIL DEAD. Sadly, the second half turns into pure fantasy and gets weighed down with all the emotional trauma, dream sequences and extra characters and I felt it lost something along the way and became quite muddled. -
dglink22 June 2007Just when you thought it was safe to check into a New York City hotel, along comes Mikael Hafstrom's chilling "1408." Not since Norman Bates terrorized guests at his motel has a paying customer received such treatment during a night's lodging. Although somewhat more cerebral than viscerally frightening, "1408" delivers its share of shocks and frights, and viewers will stay in their seats not to miss the film's twists and swerves. In a cruel blow to fans of 1970's soft rock, listening to the Carpenters' hit "We've Only Just Begun" afterward may stimulate nightmares and certainly will never be the same again.
John Cusack, a cynical writer who has sunk from producing intimate novels to hack work about haunted inns, is lured to a Manhattan hotel where room 1408 is off limits to visitors, because of its long history of inhospitality. With only a knapsack, but tons of baggage from family misfortunes, Cusack insists on a night in room 1408, despite the management's objections. Cusack triumphs over the staff and settles into the chamber's banal decor, which he idly describes piece by piece into his pocket recorder for the intended article. The evening starts to look like a genuine snooze, when the room's unsettling turn-down service, a chorus from the Carpenters, and a radio that begins an ominous countdown unnerve both Cusack and viewers.
Although the "night in a haunted house" routine has been done endlessly since movies began, Hafstrom for the most part effectively plays his audience with an eerie, often jarring, soundtrack, clever cutting, and a minimum of effects. "1408" is a ghost story, not a horror or slasher flick, and, as effective haunting tales have shown ("The Haunting," "The Uninvited"), the unknown, the unseen, and the unexplained are far more frightening than CGI effects. Although reminiscent of "The Shining," another Stephen King adaptation, this film was evidently made on a modest budget. Thus, Hafstrom worked largely with a one hotel-suite set and one mid-level actor. Besides Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson also appears as the enigmatic hotel manager, who warns Cusack about the room, yet seems to know more that he shares. Cusack is fine as always and carries the film effortlessly and literally through Hell and high water. While perhaps not as scary as the premise suggests, "1408" nevertheless provides intelligent entertainment for lovers of old fashioned ghost stories. -
This adaptation started out very enjoyable, but finished poorly.
I get the feeling (with a certain sour deja-vu) that the movie was written by someone who didn't really appreciate the details of the (very good) source material, and, surprise surprise, who thought their ideas were -so- much better than what the author had come up with.
Wrong.
Where the movie diverges sharply from the original story is where it loses all the atmosphere that has been built up - which is a terrible shame, because there is a lot of well-constructed suspense, the acting is excellent, and there is even a little dark humour thrown in.
My suggestion would be to read the story as King wrote it. It won't take as long, and the ending's better. -
"... you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!"
This movie might have been better had it ripped off more of that song. That's not to say that all of "1408" was a farce on "Hotel California": this was an original Stephen King story, after all, and there was no pink champagne on ice (rather a bottle of whisky)... and there were a lot less plot holes in the song. But in any case, if you substitute "Nightman" for "Creepy Voice on the Phone", you might end up with the basic plot of "1408".
You can read the basic plot of the story anywhere: angsty, moody writer Mike Enslin (our fabulously miscasted John Cusack) forces the manager of the Dolphin Hotel (our fabulously casted Samuel L. Jackson) to rent him a "haunted" hotel room. The only way this story differs from any other predictable haunted-hotel-room tale is in the way backstory is used: we get to know a lot about Enslin and how he became obsessed with the occult, ghosts, and hauntings, more than in the original Stephen King story.
However, the movie's fatal weaknesses are in (a) the main character himself, (b) gaping plot holes in the story, and (c) the fake plot twist halfway through.
Mike Enslin might be a fairly engaging character to some--he's funny, intelligent, and cynical. But a few scenes, in particular, were heartwrenchingly beautiful, and we come to feel very deeply for the star of this horror flick in a way that is just fundamentally unfitting, and the worst part is that this feeling ends up being thrown out by the end. There's no denying that Cusack is a great actor: but it totally broke the pace of the movie to have a heart-wrenching memory scene of Enslin's dying daughter Katy, right in between an earthquake and a flood. It simply didn't fit, particularly when, ten minutes later, Enslin lies under a sofa and started maniacally laughing.
Now, take "Identity", a 2003 horror film in which Cusack starred. His main character there was extraordinarily sympathetic, but that empathy didn't clash with the plot and action in the way this one did.
The crucial problem was this movie had as many plot holes as Pennsylvania has deer, not to put too fine a point on it, and THAT was where the heart-wrenching just didn't work. No one survives more than an hour in the room, and yes, the clock does begin a countdown from sixty minutes--but not until Enslin has gone over the room with a fine-tooth comb and a UV lamp, and an electrician has fixed the thermostat. Sure, no electronics work in 1408--except Enslin's computer, which somehow manages to pick up wireless even when the rest of the building somehow disappears. Yes, the room is playing with Enslin's psyche and bringing his daughter into the mess--but then why drag in the one extremely short and pointless scene with his father? And though Jackson's line of "That is one evil f#@%!ng room," might suffice for Enslin and for most moviegoers, I would have been pretty happy to find out just what is ACTUALLY going on in 1408.
I won't spoil the ending action, or even the stupidest fake plot twist to ever fakely twist a plot--go somewhere else in the movie comments for that. And I'm not going to lie: I really did like this movie as a noncommittal horror film, and I even enjoyed those heart-wrenching scenes between Enslin and Katy. (I can only hope they show up again in another Cusack film in the future.) But ultimately, the elements of fine acting and crappy horror just didn't mix well, and it really just became a noncommittal horror film, with no potential, and hopefully (oh God, please) no sequels.
Besides, all that kept running through my head were the words to "Hotel California." "Last thing I remember, I was running for the door... I had to find the passage back to the place that I was before..." -
ebeckstr-131 May 2021Just a quick note: watch the original shorter version instead of the extended cut. The latter includes scenes that were left out for a reason. They mess up the pacing (at one point an extra scene brings the story to a grinding halt) and raise the emotional tone to a maudlin pitch. The original cut is more suspenseful and focused.
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Mike Enslin is an intelligent but cynical, faithless, self-righteous paranormal investigator and novelist who's made a living by traveling from place to place and disproving rumors and superstitions about ghosts, poltergeists, and specters. He decides to investigate an allegedly evil room at the Dolphin Hotel in New York City where numerous guests and hotel staff have been killed over the years, and for the first time confronts what he believes to be a genuine supernatural presence. Despite some solid performances from Cusack and Jackson, and some truly spooky moments, this horror-thriller is only marginally effective; the setup is familiar, and the whole thing builds to an inexplicable and unsatisfying conclusion. Kudos to Cusack though for being an effective one-man show. **
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AlsExGal30 April 2023John Cusack plays a writer famous for debunking haunted house claims. When he receives a mysterious postcard about the Manhattan-based Dolphin Hotel, and the cursed history of one of its suites, Room 1408, he can't resist the opportunity spend a night there so he can quash another ghost hoax.
There is much I liked about this horror yarn: the performances of Cusack (the endearing swagger from his 1980s roles on full display), and Samuel L. Jackson as the Mephistophelian hotel manager; the production design; and the ominous use of the Carpenters song We've Only Just Begun, which signals the nightmare Room 1408 is about to unleash. A neat twist late in the second act recalibrates the movie, as an overload of special effects was starting to make things redundant. Room 1408 borrows from The Shining, not surprising in that both are based on books by Stephen King. -
shilbrecht3 January 2008First, I love John Cusack. Next, I used to love Stephen King when I was a teenager (now he scares me too much!). But I decided to watch this today on my On Demand in the middle of the afternoon in my family room while folding clothes. By the middle of the film, at 1:30 p.m., I was too scared to go in my basement to get any more clothes, so I just sat there and watched! This isn't a slasher type of scary. This is a get in your head and make you look behind you in case someone is lurking back there kind of scary. Sort of like The Shining (what is it with King and big, old hotels?) but not quite as scary, although almost.
Cusack's acting is excellent! I LOVED this movie, even though it scared the s**t out of me! -
SunburnM3331 August 2007I was really looking forward to this film, as the short story it's based on is one of King's classics, almost lovecraftian in its otherworldliness. Started off brilliantly, obviously director Mikael Hafstrom has been paying attention to the slow burn, anticipatory nature of Japanese horror. Cusack playing the embittered, alcoholic sceptic was an inspired bit of casting, as he was ideal for the role, pulling off what is essentially a one-man show. Unfortunately, like most Hollywood produced horror, it burns itself out just after halfway through, as if it doesn't know where to go. The wall-hugging sequence (obvious nod to Cat's eye) was inspired and then.. Dream sequence? Oh it was all a dream, NO, and I'm back in the room. Sorry, tired and lame there, if Bobby had walked out of the shower at that point I couldn't have cared less. The ending, well, COULD have been done so much better, if Enslin had died in the fire, allowing his wife to find the dictaphone and play back that message it would have been a fantastic ending, but, typical Hollywood, not allowing the protagonist to die for fear of upsetting people (I mean really, what could upset a horror fan?) In the story Enslin immolates himself to escape, the film gives him his wife back and a walking stick. So I'll give this one six skulls, and shame on Dimension for not having the guts to go with a decent, gritty, ending.
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snow0r4 September 2007Please note that this review refers to the theatrical version, and not the Director's Cut DVD release which features a completely different ending.
Mike Enslin is a cynic. He is the author of books that detail and debunk popular ghost stories and haunted hot-spots, and it quickly becomes obvious that he is somewhat disenchanted with the life that he leads. That is, of course, until he receives an invitation to Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel, a room in which lies his and arguably John Cusack's biggest challenge yet.
It soon becomes apparent that 1408 is not your standard horror movie, as what follows, after an enjoyably creepy encounter with hotel manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L Jackson), is essentially 90 minutes of John Cusack in a room. On his own. Save for, of course, whatever lurks inside 1408. It is a challenge that Cusack rises to expertly; we all know he's a good actor and a brilliant everyman (I don't remember a film in which I've wanted to see him crash and burn), but 1408 allows him to display his range to great effect as the room confronts him with the physical dangers of the present and the emotional tragedies of his past.
While it's relatively light on big scares, 1408 instead creates a powerful sense of unease that combines wonderfully with Cusack's portrayal of a man enduring his own private hell. Each challenge thrown up by the room takes the movie somewhere new and unexpected, ensuring that the movie never really gets tired or repetitive, and as a result each scene in the room is tense, surprising, and very, very creepy. However, that's not to say that it doesn't lose its way occasionally. Some of the CGI usage is quite ineffective, and about two-thirds through the movie it feels like it's about to go the wrong way, but it recovers well for the final act, and its haunting ending ensures that you'll remember it long after you leave the theatre.
A brilliantly acted, well developed version of King's short story, 1408 is a different type of horror movie, but in all the right ways. Very good! -
claudio_carvalho23 February 2008The cynical and skeptical writer Mike Enslin (John Cusack) writes books evaluating supernatural phenomena in hotels, graveyards and other haunted places, usually debunking the mystery. While writing his last book, he travels from Los Angeles to New York to spend one night in the evil room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel, which is permanently unavailable for guests. The reluctant manager Mr. Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) objects to his request and offers an upgrade, expensive booze and finally the reports relating the death of more than fifty guests along decades in the cursed room. However, Mike threatens Mr. Oiln, promising to sue the hotel, and finally checks in the room. Along the night, he finds that guests of room 1408 can check out when they like, but they can never leave the room alive.
"1408" has a promising ghost story that recalls "Twilight Zone" with good special effects, two great actors - John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson - but unfortunately the conclusion is very disappointing. The storyline recalled me the lyrics of the Eagles' song "Hotel California" ("You can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave!") and the plot is totally wasted with the awful conclusion that destroys the idea that Mike died while surfing and is living in hell due to his bad treatment to his father and to his wife after the death of his daughter. The writer should have left an open end, like most of Asian and European movies, to allow the free interpretation of the viewer instead of giving a terrible commercial end explaining that Mike saw ghosts indeed. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "1408" -
imdb-34583 July 2007After spotting the high rating on IMDb, I decided to go see this movie. Beyond that high rating, I intentionally avoided reading any of the reviews. I wanted to go into the theater with a clean slate, without knowing the plot or having predetermined expectations.
Given my rating, you can see that I was disappointed. I enjoyed the development of the main character Mike Enslin. I also enjoyed how the hotel manager attempted to talk him out of entering the hotel room. By the time Enslin entered the room, I was ready for some scary stuff.
First chocolates appear on the pillow and the toilet paper is folded. Enslin reacts in a believable manner. He's freaked out. I'm encouraged and think to myself, this is going to be good. The people who made this movie understand that less is more.
But it's what happens next that was a big let down. The subtleness is quickly replaced by the predictable shotgun approach... Just blast the audience with every Hollywood scary trick in the book and hope that something works. Let's see, a clock radio that turns on by itself? Good, that's always scary. Objects that move around in the room? Good, you can't complain about that. Blood dripping from the walls and sink? Great. Ghosts that commit suicide? Good. Anything else? How about loud noises, shaking, fire, more shaking, messing up the room, more blood, etc etc. It's all good. And it's all been done before. Overstimulate our Attention Deficit Disordered audience with all kinds of stuff in quick succession, and they won't be able to look away.
Well, it didn't work for me. And you know what else? When I go see a horror movie in a theater, it's typical to hear several groups of girls in the audience yelling in fear at scary moments. But this movie had no scary moments. The audience was silent and disinterested. I felt no chill down my spine. Nothing. The Shining was 100x what this movie tries to be.
So who are all these people who are saying that it is one of the best horror movies ever? Friends of the director? Sorry, I just don't get it. -
Here's why. Stephen King's psychological horror rarely ever shows its face on the screen the way it appears in his writing. This movie captures a lot of the mental torture that Stephen King writes so well (embodied in room 1408). I typically always see Cusack as playing himself in every movie he's in. Fortunately, this role appeals to that character. I would say see it and judge for yourself. I specifically enjoyed the background music and director's choice of camera angles. I also appreciated the mix of surprise horror and psychological. All too often, a horror film loads up too much on one side and it just doesn't work out well!
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dakuchonekobing2 July 2022I watched this movie quite a while ago, and I re-watched it recently. I still find it fascinating and thrilling while watching. This movie is a highlight of the horror genre. Even the fact that it has four different endings makes the movie even more special.
Undoubtedly, John Cusack's acting contributed a lot to the success of the film. But if anyone asks me if I regret anything about this movie, my answer is yes. The relationship of writer Mike Eslin and his father is talked about in room 1408 not so much, other than the two talking in the bathroom - but actually Mike's hallucination. Remember that this relationship has an influence on the old book "The long road home" mentioned at the beginning of the film.
The most important thing that I find the director of the film to do poorly, is the turning point, the twist of the film, when Mike really intends to burn down that room. I mean, does he really have that ability? Come on, he's been spinning around like a pinwheel in the room, he's been hypnotized and hallucinating, he's become unconscious and enslaved by the room. How strange that after all this, the room was so easy for him to wake up and burn it down? How can we be sure it's not another illusion, like when he was holding a knife instead of a bottle of wine and a lighter, but he didn't know and thought it was really the lighter. Who knows? This part is done too hastily and the viewer simply accepts the fact that the writer burned the room, that's all.
And I've seen different endings of the movie, I quite liked the ending where Mike died and manager Olin took Mike's stuff to his funeral and gave it to his wife. Although the ending is quite sad, it is reasonable. The ending Mike and his wife heard the recording with their daughter's voice were also good, but like I said, that's when Mike really burned that room down as simple as that. As for the ending when Mike's boss reads 1408's manuscript with a worried look on his face, this ending is quite confusing because all the good things have happened in that room already, if you take it out, it won't be interesting anymore, except that's someone's illusion lol. -
baughman8 July 2007Can you say "All shock, no plot?" There were so many unexplored directions in this movie. There was no history about the room other than the deaths. *WHY* was it evil? What made it that way? Why an "hour" countdown? Then, there were the unexplored things hinted at; for example we *saw* a camera in the air vent, which he mentioned. But when he climbed up said vent, there was no camera.
How about the fact that all the ghosts looked "Digital", and things "winked out" before hitting the ground making a static noise? Hmmm... when you put all of *those* things together, it makes room 1408 look like a high-tech spook house. Except that there was no follow up on that.
Oh... by the way... electronics don't work in 1408. Well, except for the TV... the cell phone has no signal, but Wireless Internet works fine. How many incontinuities can you possibly add? I'm sorry, but this film was nothing but "shock after shock". It's all been done before. Reflections in the mirror. Things just out of site. Changing paintings. Bleeding walls. The "Oh, it was all just a dream... no it wasn't." And, if the room was "evil", why make our main character come to terms with his daughter's death, if it was going to keep him trapped there forever anyway? It just didn't make sense.
Additionally, there was no background information about "The first book" that he wrote. Just some vague information about the "dad was a jerk" and so forth. Speaking of dads, what was with the bit about his father? "You'll be in my place".
Overall, a truly HORRIBLE movie. It was 100% adrenalin shock factor, without any new or innovative effects, and certainly no back story, character development, etc.
My overall impression is that the entire movie was made on the "Cheap"; pretty much using one set and a couple of location shots, and was nothing but an effects film of recycled, cheesy, "seen-that-before" effects.