1408
1408 is a ghost story movie based on a short story by Stephen King and staring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. Going in I was a bit skeptical I must say. I am a pretty big fan of most of King’s work as well as being a big fan of both Cusack and Jackson. However, I couldn’t shake the memories of so many movies adapted from King’s books that should have never been made. As I put the movie in I tried to reassure myself by thinking “A movie starring john Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson it can’t go wrong….can it?” unfortunately that can’t really be answered yes.
John Cusack plays occult writer and paranormal debunker Mike Ensiln who has written such books as “10 haunted hotels” and “10 haunted lighthouses”. He does his best to show that there are no ghosts or hauntings in all the places he visits. He is made aware of a hotel in New York that has a haunted room (1408 hence the name) where dozens of people have killed themselves. Unfortunately he finds that the hotel is very reluctant to rent it to him. Samuel L. Jackson plays the hotel manager, Gerald Olin, who tries his absolute best to get him to not let him stay in that room. Mike won’t back down however and Olin gives in. It doesn’t take long before some creepy stuff starts happening and boy does it get creepy. The camera work is pretty good in this movie. The DOP and director make good use of various points of views and camera angles to add even more tension and creepiness to the film. All the sequences in the room felt very claustrophobic because of the camera work. I was thoroughly engrossed for a good while in the middle thanks to the atmosphere and camera work keeping it interesting. This however did not last.
Spoiler: drag mouse over dark text to see it better.
I was very disappointed in the red herring in the last half to convince us that the room was just a dream while he was unconscious. This was very lame and unnecessary. It felt to me like it was added just to pad the movie some more and explore more about his relationships that, to me, were the worst parts of the film.
I was quite disappointed with the last half and the ending in particular. What could have been an excellent movie ran out of steam and floundered. I hate it when a bad ending ruins what could be a great movie. So in answer to my question I would have to lean towards no but it has enough meat in the middle to make me stay at least neutral.
Overall rating 6.5
Deaths-less than 10
creepiness rating 8 (for the scenes in the room)
Scariness rating 4 (a few tension spots but nothing to write home about)
Gore rating 3 (some gruesome photos but not much in action)
Fun rating 4
Ending rating 3
Rewatch rating 1 (would not see again on purpose)
Review by Elvis Lawson
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