Reviewed by Stuart O'Connor
Stars John Cusack, Mary McCormack,
Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Samuel L Jackson
Written by Matt Greenberg, based on a
short story by Stephen King
Certification UK 15 | US PG-13
Runtime 112 minutes
Directed by Mikael Hafstrom
Haunted houses were once a staple of the horror genre; now not so much, thanks to the prevalence of gore and so-called torture porn. Of course, everybody's favourite haunted house (well, it's actually a hotel) movie is The Shining — which, coincidentally, was also based on a Stephen King yarn. This time, though, it’s not the hotel that’s “haunted”, it’s just one room — room 1408 at New York’s Dolphin Hotel. And we’re not even sure if it’s haunted; as Samuel L Jackson (hotel manager Gerald Olin) says: “It’s an evil fucking room.”
Dealing with evil is not something that writer Mike Enslin (Cusack) is used to. He’s more at home uncovering the fakes and frauds, and has written a pile of bestselling books that debunk the paranormal. For the final chapter of his new book, he's keen to stay in 1408. Of course, the hotel isn't that keen to have him. They no longer let anyone use that particular room (they got tired of cleaning up the mess the next morning). But Enslin insists, so up he goes to spend the night and see what all the fuss is about.
From here on, the movie is pretty much a one-man show, with a four de force of acting from the always watchable, always brilliant, always underrated Cusack (Jackson fans will be disappointed that he only spends about 10 minutes on screen). It doesn't take long for the room to start messing with him — a chocolate mysteriously arrives on his pillow, he gets strange phone calls from room service, the clock radio turns itself on (The Carpenters' We've Only Just begun, oh the horror) — and it all turns into a proper Creepshow as Enslin's initial cocky cynicism turns to dread and then genuine terror. The sense of claustrophobia is palpable, and director Hafstrom knows just how to press the audience's buttons without veering into camp. The film loses its way a litte in the final act — there's some CGI overkill, and an unnecessary subplot introduced — but for the first hour or so, 1408 is one of the scarier films to come out of Hollywood in quite some time. Don't watch it alone.
• Official UK Site
• Official US Site
• 1408 at IMDb
• Watch a 1408 featurette: WMV | RM | QT | IPOD