a classically styled, old-school haunt

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2007)

1408 Reviewed by Samuel Osborn
I remember reading the short story 1408 is based upon. It was a Stephen King yarn, bland in the way his writing gets when the prose aches to be a script. And like most of Mr. King's work, a script was madethe rights to his work apparently aren't hard to obtain from the easy-going writer. The necessary extrapolations were made, cluttering up the short story so it could fill 90 minutes of film and, voila, a movie was made. Between three screenwriters who, combined, have Reign of Fire and Agent Cody Banks to their resumes, a Swedish director with an abysmal American debut (Derailed), and a remarkably mediocre short story for source material, I had 1408 chalked up to be a joke. A sorry stab at the haunted house genre. I, of course, was wrong.
1408 isn't "torture porn" as the Saw and Hostel franchises have been deemed; it isn't a Japanese re-hash like The Ring or The Grudge; and also it's not a slasher glory days re-make like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the upcoming Halloween. 1408 is a classically styled, old-school haunt. And it's very effective.
Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a mythbuster for haunted houses. Once a laudable novelist, now Mr. Enslin slinks around the deepest, phoniest hotels dislodging their claims to supernatural fame. As is obligatory to any Stephen King romp, Mr. Enslin is, at heart, a troubled, middle-aged ordinary Joe. He's likable in the film noir sort of way: an agreeable prick. Life's thrown him some punches and Mr. King finds him a few rounds later, beaten but carrying on alright. Separated from his wife and without children, Mr. Enslin lives on the beach and spends his free time surfing and dressing like an idiot. He receives a postcard from The Dolphin Hotel in Manhattan one day, warning him not to enter the room 1408. Intrigued, he calls the hotel and asks for the room. The receptionist hangs up on him.
It isn't until he's pulled legal strings with his publishing house's lawyer does Mr. Enslin finally convince the hotel's manager, Mr. Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), to allow him the room for one night. 56 people have died in there, he says, either by natural death or suicide. A maid was once locked in the bathroom for no more than a few minutes. By the time Mr. Olin had gotten her out, the maid had gouged both of her eyes out. On this point, even at the risk of over-hyping his main attraction, Director Mikael Hafstrom goes to extensive efforts to make his haunted room a scare even before we set eyes upon it. So when the door finally creaks open, our stomach's already clenched and ready to fling itself up into our throats.
And from that moment on, when the key is turned and 1408 opened, we're treated to dozens of goodies from Mr. Hafstrom's big bucket of scares. The film is loaded with them. But what makes 1408 original is their enigmatic nature. There's no name or physicality to the spook that haunts 1408. It's just an awesome evil. And in this way, the curtain isn't drawn to reveal our opponent. We're never sure what we're up against. This gives the three screenwriters carte blanche on the scares their allowed to dream up.
The pacing also plays a role, as boring a point as that may seem. The scares, though abundant, do well to sneak up on us, compounding quietly behind our nerve endings where they wait to pounce. It's an old trick from the golden days, when censor boards didn't allow excessive gore or grotesque figures onto Hollywood's screens. Directors were forced to use minimalist tricks to crawl under our skin. So even though all that's wrong with 1408 early on is a preternaturally good housekeeping service, a faulty window, and an annoying clock radio, we're scared out of our wits.
But don't worry, Mr. Hafstrom doesn't rely on minimalist mumbo jumbo for 1408's full 94 minutes. The scope soon widens to a point where the reliable troops of CGI are recruited for service. The things this hotel room can do will knock your socks off. And with the ever-lovable John Cusack behind Mike Enslin, the ride's entertainment value is foolproof. And as a note on 2007, between The Hitcher, 28 Weeks Later, Mr. Brooks, Disturbia, 1408, and the upcoming Joshua, this year might be the year for horror's classy comeback.
Samuel Osborn