1408
REVIEW: 1408.
What’s really behind the door of hotel room 1408?
Is it something evil or just an old set of cheap furniture?
If Mike Enslin, a skeptical investigative writer played by John Cusack, can figure it out then he’ll know too late why curiosity always killed the cat. No one has ever left this room unless he was dead in a body bag. But Mike for some reason thinks he can do better. His heart fears no closet-monsters and his inquisitive mind is as sharp as a razor blade. Apparently Mike thinks that that’s going to be enough to get him through the night. Boy was he mistaken! So strap on your seat belts people, our hero is going to go through a rough ride with this little ‘stakeout’ of his and he’s taking us all with him.
In this horror thriller by director Mikael Hafstrom the movie-goer is given a new outlook on what it really means to face down your own fears before they finally manage to get you.
Based on a short story by the renowned Stephen King, the movie’s main character is cast into a world of psychological terror. How he decides to face this unexpected situation will ultimately define his fate. Also making an appearance in this picture is the ever talented and charismatic Samuel L.Jackson. Although playing a mainly cameo role that was enough to set a mood for the movie and leave a lasting impact.
This is no traditional movie about ghost hauntings and chain-rattling poltergeists as blonde screaming-queens run around petrified throughout the house in their pajamas. No, this one movie has tact and a certain sense of finesse.
Lots of blood and gore and half-naked people are not to be found in this movie because this movie opted instead to have a story plotline. Gone away are also the cheap shock-tactic surprises. The director and writer chose to target our insecure phobias here rather than count on the tradition method of exiting our instinctive reflexes with sudden lights and loud voices. This approach sets this movie aside from the mainstream popcorn-flick market.
If anything, this movie knows how to build up anticipation and keep you puzzled at what is really going on with its plentifully littered plot twists.
All in all it’s an interesting movie although perhaps a bit exotic when it comes to “horror standards”. Watching it is like cautiously keeping an eye on a suspiciously looking stranger coming your way, you just never know what he might bring next.
It might me a rose flower but then again it might be a tucked in knife. Welcome to the world of room 1408!
Quills : 4/5
Genre : Thriller, mild horror
