The Weekend Film Review: 1408
CAST
John Cusack as Mike Enslin
Samuel Jackson as Mr. Olin
Mary McCormack as Lily
Directed by Mikael Halstrom
Written by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
Based off a short story by Stephen King
John Cusack as Mike Enslin
Samuel Jackson as Mr. Olin
Mary McCormack as Lily
Directed by Mikael Halstrom
Written by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
Based off a short story by Stephen King
THE SHORT OF IT
Cusack is served like a good X-Files episode -- quick, cool, and creepy.
THE LONG OF IT
Mike Enslin has a problem -- he expects people to deliver on what they promise. If they promise him that their
hotel has ghosts then he expects to see some ghosts, white sheets, rattling chains, something. He's even brought
tape recorders, ghosts measuring machines, and his lucky cigarette that he will only smoke in case of nuclear war.
But of all the hotels, motels, and sleazebag places he's been , not one has delivered on the promise of a visit from
spooksville. That is until he gets a strange postcard of hotel that has three smile words on it -- Don't Enter 1408.
Taking the card as a challenge he journeys to the Hotel, hustles the manager for the right to stay there and does
exactly what the postcard warned him not to -- he enters 1408. And once you check in, you don't check out...
Cusack is served like a good X-Files episode -- quick, cool, and creepy.
THE LONG OF IT
Mike Enslin has a problem -- he expects people to deliver on what they promise. If they promise him that their
hotel has ghosts then he expects to see some ghosts, white sheets, rattling chains, something. He's even brought
tape recorders, ghosts measuring machines, and his lucky cigarette that he will only smoke in case of nuclear war.
But of all the hotels, motels, and sleazebag places he's been , not one has delivered on the promise of a visit from
spooksville. That is until he gets a strange postcard of hotel that has three smile words on it -- Don't Enter 1408.
Taking the card as a challenge he journeys to the Hotel, hustles the manager for the right to stay there and does
exactly what the postcard warned him not to -- he enters 1408. And once you check in, you don't check out...
1408 MOVIE REVIEW
by Kamafi Adio
by Kamafi Adio
REVIEW
If I was British I would say this was an interesting bit of fluff. And by fluff I don't mean light but rather that the movie
zips by so fast there's no time to get bogged down. The good thing is that unlike Mike's other hotel stays, this
movie delivers exactly what is promises, a genuinely creepy film.
I've always been a fan of Cusack and knew this movie would sink or swim on his shoulders, the educated
spookiness of Sam Jackson really enlivened the film, but it was understandably short. This was all Cusack,
all the time and he really stepped up. He started subtle and when the room turned up the heat and the cold he
matched it degree by degree. While Cusack was good, I've always been leery of King's horror adaptations,
because really they are so half-baked. The only good one was The Shining, and don't you dare say Pet Sematary
or I just might Michael Vick your cat.
So I avoided this movie for the longest time because I thought Cusack's acting and King's poor adaptation
record would cancel each other out and result in me asking for a refund. I was delighted to be wrong. This
movie was the 2007's only other successful horror-thriller for one simple reason -- it kept it simple.
It's not about hacking people to death or torture, it deals with that inner battle that we have with ourselves when
we go through a tragedy. That slightly off-kilter feeling we have when we find our beds made after we just messed
them up. Or that spooky feeling that even though it should be impossible in a room this small, we are not alone.
Telling too much more about the plot would just give it away but suffice to say that all the actors shine in their
roles, the writing is sparse and unsettling without twirling its mustache at us and the directorkept us on edge while
we were tapped in that little room. My only real negative comment is that in the trailer they suggested that one
character turns into a monster which does not happen. Bit misleading and it
ticked me off but that was a minor fly in the soup,
If I was British I would say this was an interesting bit of fluff. And by fluff I don't mean light but rather that the movie
zips by so fast there's no time to get bogged down. The good thing is that unlike Mike's other hotel stays, this
movie delivers exactly what is promises, a genuinely creepy film.
I've always been a fan of Cusack and knew this movie would sink or swim on his shoulders, the educated
spookiness of Sam Jackson really enlivened the film, but it was understandably short. This was all Cusack,
all the time and he really stepped up. He started subtle and when the room turned up the heat and the cold he
matched it degree by degree. While Cusack was good, I've always been leery of King's horror adaptations,
because really they are so half-baked. The only good one was The Shining, and don't you dare say Pet Sematary
or I just might Michael Vick your cat.
So I avoided this movie for the longest time because I thought Cusack's acting and King's poor adaptation
record would cancel each other out and result in me asking for a refund. I was delighted to be wrong. This
movie was the 2007's only other successful horror-thriller for one simple reason -- it kept it simple.
It's not about hacking people to death or torture, it deals with that inner battle that we have with ourselves when
we go through a tragedy. That slightly off-kilter feeling we have when we find our beds made after we just messed
them up. Or that spooky feeling that even though it should be impossible in a room this small, we are not alone.
Telling too much more about the plot would just give it away but suffice to say that all the actors shine in their
roles, the writing is sparse and unsettling without twirling its mustache at us and the directorkept us on edge while
we were tapped in that little room. My only real negative comment is that in the trailer they suggested that one
character turns into a monster which does not happen. Bit misleading and it
ticked me off but that was a minor fly in the soup,
RATING
If your into "thinking" horro films FULL PRICE.
If your more into slasher films HALF PRICE.
MY RATING SYSTEM
I never understood stars. What the F**** does 3 stars mean? I rate movies based on how much cheddar I have to
spend. 'Cuz really aren't some movies are good because you saw them for free?
Full Price = Stop looking at porn and go see it right now!
Half Price = It can wait, but you should see it on the bigscreen.
DVD = Not a bad way to kill 2 hours, but not worth.
Cable = Okay to kill time with while you wait for your microwave dinner to finish.
Copyright © The Weinstein Company
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Copyright © The Weinstein Company
Copyright © The Weinstein Company