by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 4, The Film: 4/5, The Extras: 4/5, Overall: 8/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub, Len Cariou, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Jasmine Jessica Anthony
Intro:
… a bloody great little horror film.
The Film:
In 2002, Bangor Maine’s favourite scare-slinger, Stephen King, released a short story collection titled Everything’s Eventual. It was a pretty solid sack of stories, with “The Little Sisters of Eluria” being a highlight for Dark Tower fans and “The Road Virus Heads North” managing to be creepy as hell. However, the undeniable highlight of the book was “1408”, an absolute barnstorming return to King’s early career of unrelenting, merciless horror, set appropriately enough, in an extremely haunted hotel room. It didn’t take long for a film adaptation to get greenlit and in 2007, 1408, directed by Mikael Håfström, was released. It was a hit commercially and critically but doesn’t seem to get talked about much these days, which is odd considering how popular Stephen King adaptations are at the moment. Happily, 1408 has been given the slick 4K treatment. So, how does this horror classic stack up nearly two decades later?
Pretty damn well, thanks for asking.
1408 is the story of cynical, sceptical author Mike Enslin (John Cusack). Ol’ mate Mike makes a quid visiting so-called haunted locations and then writes non-fiction but sensationalised yarns about the experience. This, despite the fact that he has zero belief in “ghoulies, ghosties and long-legged beasties.” Mike’s a streak of jet black nihilism, cold and aloof, stewing in the grief from the loss of his daughter Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony) and estrangement from his wife, Lily (Mary McCormack). One day, he receives a postcard suggesting that he visit room 1408 in the grand old Dolphin Hotel in New York. Mike agrees and when he checks in, hotel manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) begs the jaded author to stay out of the room, claiming that it has a bodycount of 56 people and no one has lasted more than an hour in there. Mike takes this as a personal challenge and steps inside the room, forever changing his destiny and gaining tangible proof of the supernatural.
If only he could survive the experience.
There’s a lot to like about 1408. First and foremost is a terrific (and underrated) performance from John Cusack, who imbues Enslin with a brittle, vulnerable energy beneath his snarky, shambolic exterior. Most of the film plays out like a single character/single location drama and Cusack is more than up to the task. Jackson and McCormack both do fine work here too, mind you, but ultimately this is Cusack’s movie. The direction from Mikael Håfström is also topnotch, the talented Swede somehow managing to deliver a movie that never feels claustrophobic despite taking place in the titular hotel room. He also shows a real flair for surreal imagery and unsettling mise en scène, which makes the film tense and discomforting even before the spookshow actually begins. The script from Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski is also well crafted, expanding on King’s brisk original in smart ways and adding an emotional core that thankfully avoids feeling mawkish. Also, the notion of a haunted hotel room that isn’t chockers with ghosts seeking revenge or redemption from beyond the grave but is simply “an evil fucking room” feels fresh and unencumbered by the usual shopworn tropes of the genre.
On the downside, the pacing gets a little loose in the middle and some judicious editing would have made the third act arrive in a more timely fashion. Also, despite the existence of four (!) different endings, it feels like more work could have been done to nail the denouement as none of the conclusions feel entirely right. Then again, wonky endings are a pretty common problem across the range of King’s work and adaptations, so this isn’t a huge surprise.
The Imprint 4K includes both the theatrical version and director’s cut, the main difference being that the former has a slightly less bleak ending than the latter, but both are well worth your time.
The Extras:
A decent collection of items left in this haunted hotel’s lost and found. There’s an audio commentary by director Mikael Håfström and writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. There are deleted scenes with optional audio commentary from the same trio.
You’ve got the two other endings, bringing the total to four when you include the theatrical and director’s cut. And there are a bunch of legacy featurettes like The Secrets of 1408 (which are a series of mini vids on various aspects of productions), John Cusack on 1408 and Inside Room 1408, plus a trailer and a few other bits and bobs.
However, best in show by a pretty huge margin is the newly produced Don’t Enter 1408 making-of documentary. Hosted by director Mikael Håfström (who seems lovely, by the way), it’s a look at the film from conception to release, with genuinely fascinating anecdotes about: the shockingly elaborate set, how Quentin Tarantino was instrumental in the casting of Samuel L. Jackson and the fact that the “director’s cut” is actually less of a director’s cut than the theatrical cut!
Also, the flick was shot on the same set as The Shining and features a cameo from the very axe used by Jack Nicholson in Kubrick’s infamous 1980 classic. So, there ya go, a little anecdote to share with your friends to confirm that you are, in fact, a massive dork.
All in all, this is a very solid package for fans of the film, new and old alike, and pretty much the final word on this fright flick.
The Verdict:
Although it doesn’t seem to get its due these days, 1408 is a bloody great little horror film. Adapted smartly from one of Stephen King’s best stories, it features a fantastic cast headlined by John Cusack at the top of his game, helmed by a young and hungry director doing creative and terrifying work and drips with atmosphere and imagination.
Housed in a 3D Lenticular hardcase with artcards and brimming with nerdy extras for weirdos who love that kind of stuff, 1408 is a must own for fans of movies about hotels where you can check out anytime you want… but you can never leave.
