What lies in the the silence of the next few moments? 1408 lets us anticipate.

Rating: 9/10 (24 August 2007)

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a jaded man, probably because he's dedicated a good portion of the past few years searching for any sign of life beyond the mortal coil. He travels across the country, spending single nights in the time at every possible haunted site in America, looking for signs of the paranormal and finding nothing. At his latest book signing, the worn-out writing admits that his lack of contact with ghosts and ghouls he's long hoped for has invoked skepticism in him.
Yet he is summoned to the Dolphin Hotel in New York City in a manner reminiscent of Pandora's Box: a postcard is sent to him from the hotel, warning him not to enter a certain room 1408. Of course, this is implied as much more an invitation than anything else. His curiosity piqued, Mike Enslin makes his way to NYC to find out just what is going on with room #1408.
The past decade has seen many horror films categorised into either "exploitive," "contrived" or "unoriginal," the latter category defined by the veritable slew of remakes that has dominated the horror movie industry. As of 2007, I have seen only three such remakes that would qualify as great movies in my eyes: Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (2004), Marcus Nispel's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and Jonathan Liebesman's prequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006). 1408 is not a remake or prequel by any means, but an adaptation of one of Stephen King's short stories. Another novella of his, "Secret Window, Secret Garden," provided the basis for the excellent Johnny Depp thriller Secret Window in 2004 and proved that the horror genre can survive without gratuitous blood and gore, and with immersive characters as well.
1408 follows suit, invoking a style of horror much more comparable to Stanley Kubrick's semi-adaptation of King's The Shining (1980) than anything like Saw. We learn from hotel manager Gerald Olin (played snarkily by Samuel L. Jackson) that there has been a total of 56 deaths, natural and unnatural, in room #1408, the building's only haunted site. Against Olin's wishes (and with the man's brandy in hand), Mike Enslin decides to spend the night, expecting more of the same that he's encountered along the way.
What starts off with simple drafts of wind and mysterious mints manifesting on pillows between shots becomes a literal house of horror for Enslin as window's shut without warning, his key breaks off in the lock, and The Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" blasts on the clock radio, signifying that Mike has only 60 minutes left to live in 1408.
The remaining portion of the movie is a wonderful combination of suspense, visual horror, and an insight into what drives Mike Enslin to do his (until now) unrewarding work. This film makes some of the greatest use of silence in a film since Ridley Scott's Alien, and more than ten seconds without music on the soundtrack would leave me thinking that something was about to pop up. When the sound is going, the surround sound system makes the most of its potential. Most notably, we learn about Enslin, his estranged wife, and the daughter they lost to terminal disease, and how her early death lead him to search for her in some way.
While the suspense in 1408 certainly stands out, it is totally and completely a story about human loss and letting go of your loved ones. Mike Enslin's struggle with his daughter's death is just as, if not more fascinating than the horrible room he spends the vast majority of the movie trapped in. You feel for him, and desperately want him to come to terms with the issues in his life and escape.
One of the best movies of 2007, by far, and I wait for it eagerly to hit shelves on DVD. Mr. King should be proud his short work has turned into something so well made.