1408

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.

A 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 .

"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!

Please 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!

If 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.