1408 (2007) Movie Information:

1408 (2007) Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom 1408 (2007) Written by: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski 1408 (2007) Cast: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub

1408 (2007) U.S. Distributor: Dimension Films 1408 (2007) U.K. Distributor: Buena Vista

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1408 (2007) Synopsis:

Based on Stephen King's short story, "1408" stars John Cusack as a debunker of paranormal occurrences who encounters real terror when he checks into the notorious Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel.

1408 (2007) Movie Review:

Welcome to the John Cusack show. “1408” finds John Cusack trapped in a room for 100 minutes so there’s no way to review the film without first reviewing John Cusack. Any self-respecting fan of Mr. Cusack is all but guaranteed to enjoy watching his character yell at an invisible presence that threatens to drive him crazy over the course of sixty minutes. Being that I would pay to see the actor yelling at just about anything, this is my idea of a good time.

No stranger to closed-room horror scenarios (remember “Identity”? No? Me neither), John Cusack is entering into an ambiguous phase in his career that demands notice. No longer a baby face wise ass, the new Cusack comes with a lot more psychological baggage, which will take some getting used to for some. Dropping his serendipitous dog loving Americas sweetheart shtick, it’s as if Cusack is aiming instead for a post-“Groundhog Day” Bill Murray career in recent roles ranging from “1408” to his upcoming project titled “Grace is Gone.” Let it be said here that the fine line between sardonic youthfulness and cranky miser-dom has been crossed as a sagging, slightly bloated disposition replaces Cusack’s wily “Grosse Point Blank” features. This is no longer the Cusack you want to be your best friend, he’s more like the guy you want to protect from talking your best friend off a ledge. Which makes him ideal for this film.

As horror stories go, “1408” is as thinly veiled and noisy as the film’s hotel room walls. The film opens on a dark and stormy night. Most likely the same storm front that passed through “Identity” and this is the first of the film’s many self-aware winks. The second is that this is essentially a formulized haunted house film in which the main (and pretty much only) character is downtrodden haunted house author… who doesn’t believe in haunted houses! But the metaphor that haunted houses serve in relation to the character soon reveals itself through Cusack’s melancholy delivery. The way casually nihilistic lines like “nothing would make me happier than witnessing a paranormal event” are spoken indicate that there’s a lot going on here beneath the surface with this character—damnation is a blessing for Cusack because at least it proves that something is out there.

After receiving a mysterious postcard in the mail with the number “1408” printed on it as if some sort of challenge to this world weary ghostbuster, Cusack’s quest for meaning is answered in the form of a purgatorial nightmare. As he enters the strangely normal looking New York hotel, he is warned “DO NOT STAY IN THAT ROOM!” repeatedly, which, of course, has the opposite effect. As played by Samuel L Jackson in what is basically a glorified cameo as the hotel’s no-nonsense night manager, this brief part gives the film a catalytic burst of energy before the ride begins. He really makes you anticipate Cusack’s inevitable encounter with —duh-duh-duhhhh— the room from hell. I don’t know about you but if Jackson is telling me not to go in a room or, say, a plane full of snakes, I’m listening the guy. And when he barks “it’s an evil f*****g room!” to the back-talking Cusack, the film effectively makes its point through this genus bit of casting. After this relatively short plot set-up Cusack finally enters room 1408 and, well, I’m sure you can figure out what happens from there. After a number of increasingly unsettling ghost movie clichés (the TV turns on! The lights go out! The thermostat breaks!), the alarm clocks starts to count down from one hour. As we remember the manager telling Cusack that nobody has ever survived in this room past the one-hour mark, this is when the fun really starts.

The film is directed by Mikael Håfström with producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein watching over him a little more closely than they did when he made “Derailed.” Håfström, hum, it’s almost as if the brothers got a half off deal on their usual director, Lasse Hallström. Håfström may not be as esteemed as Hallström but what he has done here is made a decent bite sized horror film that is sure to please anybody looking for a quick fix of spooks.

From “Bug” to “Saw” to “Hostel,” the new trend in horror is to back the plot into a corner or spatially fixed position and proceed to unleash hell on its protagonists. These narratives seek to work around constricting, torture based premises and the contribution “1408” makes to this overcrowded field is that it takes the approach of one of the better episodes of “Twilight Zone” by way of a creepy “Silent Hill” videogame and with a number of zippy Mamet-esq theatricalities (biting dialogue, one room settings, etc.) thrown in for good measure. If there are any faults (and, trust me, there are) it’s that the urge to apply logic to the flimsy plot has a way of compromising the escapism—which is more my fault than the film’s. Still, questions such as why is the hotel haunted, why is this room available to the public if EVERYONE dies after an hour stay and who, exactly, is the night manager loom and remain, to my slight dissatisfaction, unanswered. Perhaps this small-scale story worked better in short story form (Steven King is the author) but despite its lock-room gimmicks and roaming plot holes, “1408,” like its character, just wants to ride out the troubled waters. And succeeds.

Once again I must push the idea that Cusack really does some fine work in this film. This is easily his best performance since “High Fidelity.” As I watched this thriller I realized how easy it is to underestimate his marvelous talents. I like, for instance, the way the story works through his issues through the concept of the paranormal. Empty rooms with empty Bibles in said rooms and an empty character flipping through empty bibles while in empty rooms (etc.) might sound trite or pretentious to many “Saw”-philes out there (I forgot to mention that the film is also like a tricked-out version of Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit”), but Cusack sells the pretensions with his patented style that is now slathered with a middle aged malaise. After seeing “1408” I can think of no other actor I would rather be trapped in a room with.

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1408 (2007) review written by: Greg Douglass