DON'T THINK I'LL BE STAYING IN ROOM 1408 ANYTIME SOON
Written: Jun 22 '07
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Great writing, direction, acting and special effects
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: If you don't mind by scared while watching a film, this is a great choice.
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| mike.holmes's Full Review: 1408 |
Few "ghost" stories shown on the big screen scare me. But "1408" is not your average ghost story. Based on what is called a "terrifying short story" by Stephen King (which I haven't read), this is one adaptation to the big screen that remains terrifying.
THE PLOT
The plot of the film is relatively simple. Mike Enslin (John Cusack-"High Fidelity", "Being John Malkovich") is a not-so-successful writer about "haunted houses or hotels" around the country. We first meet him as he is reviewing a quaint place that advertised that it it haunted. Nothing scary happens and Mr. Enslin continues to believe that ghosts are just figments of peoples' imaginations.
However, Mr. Enslin receives an anonymous postcard from a hotel in New York City with a short warning: "Don't stay in Room 1408". This whets his appetite, of course, and he heads directly for the Big Apple. He tries to reserve Room 1408 but is told he cannot do so. Through some legal threats, he and his publisher manage to get him a reservation.
When he arrives at the rather nice, older hotel, he is again told that he should not stay in the room. The hotel's manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson-"Pulp Fiction", "Eve's Bayou") not only tries to bribe Enslin into not staying in the room but also shows him a creepy scrapbook of all the people who have died in the room. Enslin doesn't buy it and is escorted to the room by the manager.
For a few minutes, Enslin finds nothing unusual about the room but then, strange things begin to happen. Nothing all that frightening, mind you, but strange. Enslin thinks he's being set up and laughs off the unusual happenings. He has been told by Olin that no one has lasted more than one hour in the room.
At this point, I'm not going to detail what happens in the next hour of Enslin's life. I will only say almost every imaginable bad thing that could happen to a person happens to Enslin in the next 60 minutes.
Without giving too much away, I will say that Enslin sees his wife, Lily Enslin (Mary McCormack-"The West Wing") and his daughter Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony-"Commander in Chief") while he is in the room.
WHY I WAS IMPRESSED BY THIS FILM
First of all, both the direction and the screenwriting for the movie were excellent. Swedish-born director Mikael Hafstrom moves us through this film with a deliberate speed which picks up rapidly, slows down, and then moves forward again. Screenwriters Matt Greenberg ("Reign of Fire"), Scott Alexander and Larry Karazewski (both "Ed Wood" and "The People vs. Larry Flynt") have written a very clever scenario here. There are occasional moments of humor, even in the midst of some of the most frightening scenes.
I think the genius of King and the filmmakers here is that they take an ordinary situation and turn it completely on its head. Almost all of us have stayed in hotel or motel rooms. The usual facilities and amenities are shown in Room 1408 but those same standards objects morph into a horrifying set of events before the movie is over.
Cusack is the clear star of the film. Jackson is great in the few moments we see him but it is Cusack that we are shown 90% of the movie. John has always impressed me as a sort of "everyman" and he does that again here. He portrays an embittered man who has suffered loss and has little to believe in. His acting is superb throughout the film. I've rarely seen a movie where one actor carries so much of the film.
The special effects and visual effects by Gareth Wingrove and Sean Farrow respectively are thoroughly believable. The original score by Gabriel Yared ("The English Patient") adds to the suspense in the movie while there is an interesting use of an old "Carpenter" song, "We've Only Just Begun."
The movie is definitely not for small children. Judging by the audience for today's matinee (a large crowd), the movie scared just about everybody. The movie is also full of twists and turns that have you guessing as to what is really going on until the very end.
I'd probably rate the film 4.5 stars but I'll round that up to FIVE STARS for the originality.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Scary Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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mike.holmes
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Member: Mike Holmes
Location: Odessa, Texas
Reviews written: 1249
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TO HONOR TED KENNEDY, CONGRESS SHOULD PASS A MEANINGFUL HEALTH CARE BILL
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