1408, (2007), Directed by Mikael Hafstrom
Director's Cut - Grade: A -
Theatrical Cut - Grade: B -
This is an unusual pick for a Halloween list, but it's an excellent example of how a classy PG-13 psychological horror movie can be made, and also an example of how two different endings can make or break a movie.
I was hesitant to see this film because it was PG-13, meaning that perhaps the terror would have been restrained, to make it more "audience friendly". This usually involves those crazy movie studios seeing rough cuts, and saying, "Nah, take that part out...we don't want to limit the audience to just adults, put something in there that the kids will like too." Usually, I hate this. It seems like lazy filmmaking being controlled by the powers-that-be. (But then, that's Hollywood.) However, this blogger admits that he was wrong. The movie works, and probably because almost 50% of the movie depends on the performance of John Cusack, who is excellent here and proves that quirky, romantic comedies aren't his only forte.
Cusack plays Mike Enslin, a struggling supernatural horror writer who makes his living writing about supposedly haunted vacation spots, even though he knows that they're all fake. He is seeking solace from the death of his young daughter Katie. His latest "investigation" leads him to the The Dolphin Hotel, after he receives a mysterious postcard from it claiming, "Don't enter 1408." Enslin meets with the manager of the hotel, played by a deliciously still-channeling-Snakes On A Plane-and-Pulp Fiction alum Samuel L. Jackson, who continously pleads with him not to enter 1408, because it will just result in another "mess he has to clean up", and because nobody has ever lasted more than an hour in the room.
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| "Yeah, but at least MY cheesy airplane movie didn't have CGI snakes in it." |
This setup seems tedious. It feels like something that we've seen before. "Oh, a haunted house movie, except now it's just a haunted HOTEL ROOM movie." However, since this is based on Stephen King story, chances are it can be really good ala The Mist, or a real stinkburger like Graveyard Shift or Maximum Overdrive.
And for the most part, 1408 stays true to its roots. The settings and the art direction is fantastic. We can feel even before Cusack even enters the room that he seems to be engulfed by the hotel. The long majestic tracking shots of the hallways and even the elevator door closing on Jackson while he looks at Cusack with his fed-up "You idiot" face makes the situation a creepy one.
Once Cusack enters 1408, director Mikael Hafstrom uses the opportunity to start things slowly. We don't know what's going on yet, or how things will unfold, and in a sense, we're just a clueless as Cusack.
But that all changes once we start hearing the blaring notes of "We've Only Just Begun" from the radio/alarm clock and then the alarm resets itself into a countdown clock of one hour.
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| "Arrgh! Something tells me I would just be BETTER OFF DEAD!" |
For those who haven't seen the film yet, I don't want to give anymore away, but while the movie could have been just another tedious exercise in haunted places and their backstory, Cusack and Company make the movie seem fresh and original, all the while keeping us (lame cliched critic line coming)...on the edge of our seats.
However, there is the issue of the ending. When this blogger first saw the movie, it was in the theater, and he saw it with a friend. We both agreed that the original ending was not very good. It seemed rushed and unoriginal. Although, it was closer to the ending of the story. When the movie was released on DVD a director's cut was contained, and it was watched again.
This ending was an improvement. While this blogger had his own ideas about how the movie should really end, the director's cut actually made the movie better, and seemed more like the most "fitting" ending, while maintaining that level of psychological horror that the movie wanted to represent in the first place. The theatrical ending seemed more like a cop-out. The director's cut added closure.
So what does this all mean? 1408 is a great horror movie. It's not a bloody gore picture at all, but in the traditional sense, it has its elements firmly planted in what makes a good horror picture work: great performances, story, even a small throwback to The Shining (both films were shot at the same studio in London). And it's a movie that could have taken the cheesy route and ended up being a throwaway picture, but it ends up being a superb piece of suspense and exhausting terror.
And finally, Cusack himself is a devoted Chicago Cubs fan, so of course, he's endured countless elements of horror over the years. So he's treading on familiar territory here.
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