1408

Director: Mikael Håfström

Actors: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson

Roadshow

R4 DVD

Stephen King has churned out horror stories for years and the quality of these vary greatly as do movies made from them. Some have been exceptional successes others have, well, been only well received due to his reputation as a horror author. In my mind, this is the first “made from a Stephen King” story for some time which really does achieve some of the greatness of the “early Stephen King”.

John Cusack plays Mike Enslin, a cynical author who achieved a measure of success with his first novel but now writes travelogues of supposed haunted attractions, ranging from hotels to phantom infested lighthouses. He views these as tourist traps but plays along with the myths and legends to make a living. He is unhappy, alienated and disenchanted but he continues day to day, locale to locale, hotel to hotel. Some time earlier he left his wife after the death of heir only child and has a unhappy relationship with his father who is now in a nursing home and who was the subject of his first book.

As a tourist writer he receives lots of mail from potential haunted hotels but among all the advertising and spiels he finds a postcard from an unknown sender advising him not to stay in room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York. At first he thinks this is just a gimmick since the name enumerates as 13 and is tempted to write it off as just another form of advertising. But when he tries to book the room he finds the hotel is less than cooperative and he begins to take notice.

He undertakes some rudimentary research and finds a range of bizarre and brutal suicides and murders have occurred in room 1408 and his eagerness to explore the legend of the room increases.

After some pressure from the legal eagles where he works he gets a preliminary booking in the room. But when he arrives at the hotel the eccentric manager Gerald (played admirably by Samuel L. Jackson) tries everything including offering him a penthouse suite to stop him staying in Room 1408. After a strange and rather witty confrontation between them he at last makes it into the room.

At first it is a total disappointment, it just looks like any other room and he begins to records his standard cynical notes about the rumors of hauntings and the very average nature of the room. But small strange incidents begin to occur, ranging from chocolates appearing on his pillow and toilet paper folding itself – and suddenly it seems something else is afoot.

John Cusack as the cynical reporter/writer is impeccable, his smart tongue, rather sharp dialogue and edgy wit gives the movie a dark humor which is lacking in many other horror films. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a horror comedy, this is a very dark ride indeed, but it does not follow the more common cinematic paths of horror film-making i.e. using gore or comedy or a combination of both. Rather it uses special effects, character, suspense and mood to weave a fascinating tale, if not somewhat convoluted tale.

There are some truly suspenseful set pieces; one especially powerful sequence is played out in the air conditioning ducts as Enslin is chased by a phantom. There are lots of interesting special effects, some intriguing twists and some great innovative filming. The false ending and twist in the plot about two thirds through is extremely powerful, giving the viewer a chance to breathe before a final onslaught. It is also nice, for once, that a major US horror film does not conclude with a happy ending.

1408 is a ghost story which relies on suspense rather than gore and uses a wide range of techniques ranging from special effects to music, suspense to emotional sub plots, innovative filming to creative subtexts to create a highly successful tale.