Film Muser

Film Muser Rating : 2 / 5
Release Date : June 22, 2007
Running Time : 94 minutes
Watch Trailer

I first saw the trailer for 1408 during the previews at Grindhouse. I rarely find horror movies that will make me jump, so I was pretty excited for this one since the trailer alone made me jump. This film stars John Cusack as Mike Enslin, an author who writes about paranormal activities found in various hotels throughout the United States. He checks into these hotels and insists on staying in the rooms that are the most “haunted” so he can give an accurate description to his readers. While going through his mail one day, Enslin comes across a postcard from a New York hotel called The Dolphin, warning him not to stay in room 1408. Obviously Enslin is intrigued by the note and heads to the hotel in New York. There he is met by Gerald Olin as played by Samuel L. Jackson who pleads with him (including bribery) not to stay in the room since the last fifty or so guests have all died within an hour of entering it. Needless to say, Enslin ends up staying in 1408 where he is almost immediately thrust into the likes of hell.

1408 is based on a short story by Stephen King. I’m kind of used to the fact that it has become hit and miss with this guy, but based on the preview alone, I went to this movie opening night in the theatre. The film opened really strong, letting us see Enslin as he studies various hotel rooms for paranormal activity. We see that he has been doing this for sometime by the way he has become so accustomed to what he is doing, that it seems just like any regular job you or I may have. We also get a glimpse into his personal life, and see that he is dealing with something quite significant.

When he finally gets to The Dolphin hotel, the lead up to him actually entering 1408 is done quite well. As Olin explains to him what has happened in the room over the last 100 years, the suspense really starts to build up. You start to get a real desire to see Enslin go into that room.

Upon entering the room, the mood is well set and it is genuinely creepy, especially when the first of the “strange” incidents start to occur. However, as they went on, and continued to get more elaborate, I felt that they just started to lose their effect. You find yourself being presented with so many bizarre events that you are naturally hoping to get some answers. But those answers just never come, and you reach a point where you realize that you are not going to get any. I suppose you are just supposed to accept the idea that this room is completely whacko. This may be a fair proposal, but I generally like some sort of explanation.

John Cusack is strong as usual. He is a skeptic, even though he makes a career writing about the paranormal. He really captures a worker just going about his daily job, despite its generally exciting premise. Even after seeing pictures and reading stories of the gruesome tales of 1408, his skepticism and logic outweigh the evidence in front of him. Samuel L. Jackson’s character as the hotel manager seems like a throw away character. Sure, the character plays a role to give us a history of the room, but really didn’t have much substance beyond that. There was also a few scenes involving his character that just didn’t make sense, and had me scratching my head.

I’ve come to a conclusion that I can’t watch horror films in a theatre. I generally get a better sense of fright when watching these movies in my home. I’m not sure of the reason (maybe because there aren’t 400 other people watching with me), but I think after seeing 1408 I’m going to stick to watching horror movies at home. I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed this one more if I could have watched it at home, but I was definitely disappointed with it. I was never scared during the film, and there was no chance of me jumping in my seat. There were some tie-ins of the room and Enslin’s personal life that was interesting, but just didn’t go far enough for me to say that it made the story better. I really think that if the filmmakers went more in this direction, the film could have been a lot stronger. I definitely would say that 1408 is a renter, so wait a couple of months for this one to hit the video stores.

Memorable Scene
Spoiler Warning
Probably the scene that came closest to making me jump is when Enslin is trying to escape from his room by getting the attention of someone in the building across the street. As he’s trying to communicate with the person, he notices that he is actually looking at himself. While watching this “other person”, he sees someone else come up behind them and hit them with a lamp. Enslin then turns around quickly, only to see that same person with the lamp about to strike him. Fairly freaky, but slightly predictable.