creepy, original horror thriller with a classic goth feel

Rating: 8/10 (13 August 2010)

1408 (2007)
5 word summary
Writer stays in killer room
1408 is a classic style horror movie. It doesn't just depend on a serial killer like many horror movies of the last few decades. It has more of a Gothic old school feel to it which makes it stand out from others.
This is one of my favorite Stephen King horror adaptations, second to Kubrick's The Shinning. With a story that barely depends on actual dialog, except for the set up, Director Mikael Hafstrom and the rest of the crew did a great job building suspense. Using music and camera work they get every little thing that happens to be tense.
John Cusack deserves a lot of credit for the thrills as well. Though not his best work, he did a great job at making the film creepy and did have an overall good performance, which doesn't happen much in horror films. Samuel Jackson's role was also really good and was a lot of fun to watch.
As I mentioned earlier, one of my favorite parts of this film is that it isn't an average horror movie. The bad guy isn't a killer or anything, it's the mind. Though room 1408 is a "haunted room" its not a regular ghost story, it doesn't attack him, it makes him attack himself. Its similar to The Shinning but a different version. Instead of having a hotel room make you go insane and try killing people, the room makes you go insane and kill yourself.
****Spoilers****
My favorite thing about this film is when he wakes up at the beach its all been a dream after he got knocked out while surfing. And really you hate them for it. What a cop out. I actually kind of wanted to walk out.
As his life goes on and thing start showing up from the hotel, faces and people he saw there. You start to wonder what is gonna happen, how can this film save itself. Then the mail room falls apart and he's been in the room the whole time and is still stuck. As a viewer I couldn't help but smile, but for him it makes it worse. What a great save.
As the rest of the film goes on and the end comes you still kind of feel it wasn't real. To him it was real but really he was just crazy. That's why the ending is so great. He plays the recorder and you here his daughter, his wife looks terrified and shocked, he doesn't look surprised at all, he knew it was real, he looks at her with a blank expression. Credits role.
****End Spoilers****
This is one of my favorite horror films. Even if you don't really like horror films you should still like this one. I don't usually enjoy that many horror films but this is an exception. Any horror, King, Cusack or Jackson fans should watch this one and sit back for a fun, creepy, and original horror thriller.
8/10