In 1408 the true jump-out-of-your-seat scares are limited, but it will give you a bit of the creepy crawlies for sure. Based on the Stephen King short story it captures just about everything the King novella brought to light and offers up a few twists here and there that were necessary in order to turn it into a feature film. As a matter of fact the author has even given the film his seal of approval, something he didn’t even do for Kubrick’s The Shining.
The story centers on Mike Enslin (John Cusack), a man that has lost his young daughter, left his wife and now leads a life researching supposed haunted houses and to his not so great surprise he is yet to encounter a single ghost, ghoul or goblin, but things are about to change. In the mail comes a postcard telling him not to enter room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York, this obviously gets his attention and he is off.
On his arrival hotel manager Gerald Olin played by Samuel L. Jackson begs him not to stay in the room warning of the 56 deaths that have occurred there and displaying obvious worry. To this Enslin tells him he is yet to see a ghost and doesn’t believe he will in 1408. Jackson then delivers a classic line and says that it isn’t about ghosts, “It is just an evil fucking room.” At that moment my attention was captured and for the first third of this movie you will be on pins and needles. The room begins by basically scaring the shit out of Enslin and the audience, building tension at every turn as The Carpenters’ “We’ve Only Just Begun?” plays in the background. A scary omen if there ever was one.
However, once the initial scares are over the room begins preying on Enslin’s personal life and the true story is hashed out in the second act. Luckily audiences will be happy they stuck around as the third act will give those who have really gotten into the film a final creepy moment to enjoy.
As far as Stephen King adaptations go, at least those that deal with the macabre, this is one of the best if not the best. Personally I am not a huge fan of The Shining as it captured none of the creepy qualities of King’s novel and I believe, of King’s scary books, outside of 1408, The Dark Half is really the only faithful adaptation. Director Mikael HÃ¥fström may have failed when he directed Derailed two years ago, but he is back on track with a truly enjoyable fright flick in 1408.
