1408 (film)
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1408 is a 2007 American psychological horror film based on Stephen King's 1999 short story of the same name. It is directed by Mikael Håfström and stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. The film was released in the United States on June 22, 2007, although July 13 (which in 2007 fell on a Friday) is mentioned as the release date on the website.
Plot
Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a successful author who enjoys worldwide acclaim debunking supernatural phenomena -- before he checks into the Dolphin Hotel, that is. Ignoring the warnings of the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson), he learns the meaning of real terror when he spends the night in a reputedly haunted room.
Why It Rocks
- Although it may not be 100% faithful of the short story, it is still faithful spirit of the Stephen King's 1999 short story of the same name.
- When Enslin decides to burn the room with the molotov cocktail, he yells "GO TO HELL!" Then while the flames grow on his bed he sits down in the chair for a quiet smoke. When the monster in the air ducts screams, he just says "Quiet down, you bastard." Then he gives his speech to the room
- The most unsettling thing about Room 1408 is that it's unknown what truly resides in the room. The Room itself seems to work around the concept of Genius Loci, playing off as a normal hotel room before psychologically tormenting its victims with past sins/mistakes/regrets/events of their lives against it, keeping them in the room until they either take their lives or repeat the hour they're now trapped in. When Olin calls 1408 an "evil fucking room", he truly means it, since what else could the Room be?
- This also could apply to the entire 14th floor as well. When Enslin first arrives to the 14th floor, there's a sense of unease as he circles the floor and looking through the information about 1408, all while noises are heard from each room. There's a housekeeper and later on a shot of left over food with flies, but other than that...it seems completely deserted.
- The scene where he finds the new chocolates on the pillows he had just been sitting on and then, after running all over 1408, fails to come up with an explanation as to how it occurred.
- All the scenes involving Mike and his daughter, in particular the visions of her in 1408, begging him to let her stay with him forever and not to let the room take her back - and then she falls limp as he's hugging her and crumbles to ash a moment later.
- Mike's relationship with Lily is depressing. The two were Happily Married...but then when Katie's illness occurred and then passed away, the two argued and eventually Mike left her without a reason what so ever. No wonder she's so disappointed when Mike contacts her while in the room. It also plays off with the trauma they dealt with: Lily was grief stricken with her daughter's death while Mike himself was damaged not only by her death, but not knowing where to turn due to not believing in anything. This was especially summed up with him shouting at Lily on how they should have taught Katie to "fight" the disease, but instead focused on telling her "stories" about Heaven and the like.
- Worse is during the falsehood of the Room tricking him into thinking he left: When he and Lily interact at the beach from earlier in the movie, she asks why did he leave. His response? "Because each time I looked at you, I saw her".
- Very good acting from John Cusack (Mike Enslin) and Samuel L. Jackson (Gerald Olin).
Bad Qualities
- The ending. It is general argument about the film is which ending is superior, due to Enslin's fate being different in the director's cut and theatrical cut. Some like the Director's cut due to being a fitting development for Mike and ending 1408's reign and being reunited with Katie while some don't like it due to it's Fridge Horror on whether or not burning 1408 instead unleashed its evil into the world. Others like the theatrical cut due to Enslin surviving, rebuilding his relationship with Lily, and growing as a person, with both realizing his experience in the Room was real after all.
- A minor argument about the movie to the point of argument is whether or not Enslin escaped 1408, with arguably the Director's cut implying he did finally escape, even if it meant dying in the process. The theatrical cut, while giving signs that Enslin escaped the room in the end, has left some wondering if it isn't just another hallucination of the room.
Reception
1408 is one of the few underrated gems within Stephen King's very few successful horror films based on his stories. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 175 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Relying on psychological tension rather than overt violence and gore, 1408 is a genuinely creepy thriller with a strong lead performance by John Cusack.". On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 64 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.