1408 – movie review

1408 (2007)

Directed by Mikael Håfström
Based on 1408 by Stephen King

Starring John Cusack
Samuel L. Jackson
Mary McCormack

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Mike Enslin writes about haunted hotels, motels an B&B’s. He stays in the scariest, most haunted rooms around the world. He writes about his experiences, but he doesn’t believe a word he writes. We get a little time to feel the character in this film, divorced, skeptic, going through the motions. If a motel gets a chapter in one of his books, they see increased bookings. Motel owners and fans send him invites and tips of haunted places in the mail. That’s where he gets a postcard about the Dolphin Hotel in NYC.

The manager of the Dolphin Hotel, Mr. Olin, (played impeccably by Samuel L Jackson) doesn’t want Mike to stay in room 1408. Mike thinks it’s a ploy to build mysticism. There has been a plethora of grisly murders, suicides and untimely deaths in the room. No one can last an hour is what the rumor says.

This isn’t a typical haunting, no spirit or phantom is guiding the action. Mr. Olin says it best, “It’s an evil f*cking room.” So don’t expect a ghostly apparition looking for revenge. The room just loves to torment the guests. It torments the mind. It torments the body, it’s torments from personal memories and personal feelings. Mike is ever the skeptic, ready to debunk every small incident, until he can’t any longer. But 1408 will not let him go even after he admits defeat. It wants to defeat him to the core of his soul.

If you like paranormal and psychological horror, this is one crazy film. You’ll have to keep your wits about you because at one point, the room lets Mike think he’s escaped its clutches when he hasn’t. And nearing the end of the film, when he gets through a lifetime of torment, the clock resets. He’s only been in the room for an hour. John Cusack performs outstandingly as the man being tortured to the brink of madness. I enjoyed his talking into a voice recorder, trying to rationalize what was happening and making little observations about the events. This helps to translate King’s story which relayed much of the thought processes of the Enslin character.

I understand a lot of people don’t like this film much. I liked it quite a lot. It’s one of my favorite Stephen King film adaptations. It’s like a modern equivalent of The Shining, but it’s more than that. You get the feeling of going down that rabbit hole, of falling through the looking glass and that once we’re untethered from reality, everything becomes possible. The haunting is of the mind, not the physical plane. And all is madness.

A frightening psychological paranormal adventure in a small room that finds a man’s greatest fears and thoroughly exploits them.
I give it 4.3 frightening feral accommodations on the malicious machinations of madness scale!

 

Trivia (via IMDB):

The first victim of room 1408 is a man named Grady, sound familiar? (Grady was the name of the bartender from The Shining)

The axe used by the Fireman to break into the room is the same axe Jack uses in The Shining.

At a book signing the Mike Enslin character says, “Stay Scared.” This is an oft used quote of King’s good friend, Wes Craven. Craven often wrote it with his autographs.

 

13 Trivia

We all know the numbers 1408 add up to 13 (1+4+0+8=13). But there are dozens of references to the number 13 regarding this film. I’ll mention a few here:

*The post card which has a tip to stay at the Dolphin Motel reads: “Don’t enter 1408” – it consists of 13 digits and letters.

*The Dolphin Hotel as located at 2254 Lexington Street in NYC. (2+2+5+4=13)

*The run time on the film is 104 minutes and 8 seconds. (1+0+4+8=13)

*The first death in the hotel was in 1912 (1+9+1+2=13)

*And the US release date of the film was June 22, 2007 (2+2+2+0+7=13)

Apartment 143 (2011) – Movie Review

Apartment 143

A paranormal investigation team sets its cameras up in the home of a single dad and his two children. In an interview with Alan (the Dad), he tells how the paranormal events started a few weeks after the passing of his wife. They moved from their house to this current LA apartment and within a few days the activities started again. It becomes clear early-on that the teenage daughter hates her father. The six-year-old son is a charming young man full of questions for the investigating team. Alan is struggling to raise his children while dealing with the paranormal events now taking place in their lives.

The activity begins with creepy atmosphere and subtle movements in the apartment. They soon escalate into violent outbursts as doors are slammed and items are moved. In one scene they hear the loud crashing of dishes in the kitchen, but when they run into the room, nothing is out of place. Through a series of interviews and investigations the team learns more about the family, hinting at several different possibilities for the situation. The lead investigator tells the dad that the teenage daughter is exhibiting signs of schizophrenia, and that is when the paranormal shit hits the fan.

There was some good acting and character development considering this was a documentary-style film. It is one of the better ones, providing creepy suspense, jump scares, paranormal action, and a tense build up to the climax. Not for everyone’s tastes but I liked it.
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Footnote:
Apartment 143 is distributed by Magnet, which has clearly become one of the premier distributors for quality, R-Rated, middle-budget, modern horror-films from around the world. They have brought us films such as: Monsters, I Saw the Devil, Troll Hunter, VHS & VHS-2, John Dies at the End, Absentia, The Shrine, etc… When I see the Magnet logo associated with a film, I will not hesitate to watch it.