In New York's Dolphin
Hotel, the building's
owners can pretend that
the thirteenth floor
doesn't exist by calling
it the fourteenth. They
can deny entry into
a particular room whose
number adds up to 13.
But there's no escaping
the reality that Room
1408 is "an evil
fucking room" that
quickly drives its occupants
insane to the point
of death.
1408 is masterfully
written, directed and
acted, creating the
best movie about a haunted
place since The Shining
in 1980. Like The Shining,
1408 is based on a story
by Stephen King, and
it displays that writer's
classic trademarks.
In many ways, 1408 is
the more completely
satisfying film, even
though it's unlikely
to establish the same
kind of iconic stature
in film history.
The conventions of the
haunted house tale are
as old and creaky and
built upon formulaic
blueprints as the spooky
buildings themselves.
1408 certainly draws
upon many often-used
story elements, but
as always, the pleasure
is in experiencing how
the story is retold
and made new again.
It's interesting how
much storytellers of
humor and horror have
in common. Whether it's
in delivering a comic
punchline or a short,
sharp shock; a growing
sense of giddy fun or
a gathering sense of
suspense and dread,
timing is everything.
The makers of 1408 got
the timing down to a
fine art.
Mike Enslin, the protagonist
of 1408, is a writer
who documents haunted
tourist destinations
in a series of books
for fans of the supernatural.
Following the death
of his young daughter,
Enslin is separated
from his wife and going
through the motions
of maintaining his career
in a succession of fruitless
ghost-huntings and book-signing
events.
The arrival of a cryptic
warning to avoid a mysterious
hotel room leads the
skeptical writer to
investigate and visit
the location. He soon
learns that there have
been over 50 deaths
in Room 1408 since the
first horrific suicide
there in 1912. Enslin
is as skeptical as we,
the viewers. The brilliance
of 1408 is in how, step
by step, in moments
that escalate from the
most subtle to the most
shocking, we learn exactly
how and why those deaths
had to occur.
John Cusack is excellent
in a role for which
he is perfect. If this
movie doesn't freak
you out, I don't know
what will.
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