With John Cusack (Identity, Grosse Point Blank) and Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Snakes on a Plane), 1408 is based on the story of Stephen King and everything about the movie feels like a touch of his genius. Touch, I said, not painted or tough. Actors are really the key that make horror work, drama work, and the touch of comedies that work.
Cusack, gifted with a long line of previous dark comedies, knows all about delivering comic lines. But the actor, who in his original films was more inclined to hit cynical comedy (Better Off Dead), finally proves how capable he is of touching hearts. When Mike Enslin mourns his daughter, we can’t help but feel sorry for him. Connecting with the audience is something every film should do. John Cusack is acting this year 1408, I don’t know if it’s good or bad.
Mike Enslin, a dark, cynical man who is like lost, all the will to live has recently become an expert in the world of documenting paranormal activity . He goes from haunted house to ‘haunted house’ in the hope of finding one ghost, perhaps proving if he is present. Perhaps God is trying to find what he lost. We all see that a person is beset by grief, exhausted by life, losing connection with people and things. None of the haunted houses Enslin visited offered a single, true, documentable account of paranormal activity. In his own words, everyone is probably rated about 5 or 7 or less. Then Enslinus secretly invites you to stay at the Dolphin Hotel in room #1408.
The audience is already jacked. Advertising alone makes sure that the audience understands what they are getting into. But Enslin visits one house that is not lactating. If 1408 was another joke about the act of celebrity, how important is the story?
Delphinus refuses to remain in that position – and with good reason, but Enslin insists on the help of his lawyer. Enslin is not a man who likes to say he is a ‘nobody’. When Enslin arrives at the hotel, he is immediately redirected to the office and company manager Gerard Olin (Jackson). Olin shows Enslin the pictures and documents all the accounts of his past activity in 1408. He really doesn’t want Enslin to go into that room – maybe just for his own good. No one entered that room without suffering some sad tragedy. Enslin did not go back down. Much to Olin’s disapproval, he allows the struggling writer to see what all the fuss is about. It’s that element now that it’s made ugly. Both Cusack and Jackson are above par. I hope they make movies in the future. Both are simultaneously entertaining and powerful.
When Enslin walks into that room, I’m already tense and tense. The images have just been shown in the preview. Maybe he was set up for this, but I had to gasp when she closed the door behind her. But, I think the filmmakers knew just how to deliver scares and construct this suspense. What sets 1408 apart from saying, STABULUM Part II is that the springs are not bloody or monstrous. The old suspense is a style that the greats of Hitchcock created, still work just as well if not better than anything that was brought to the director. It is necessary to put the yeast before it is necessary. The need for air. 1408 has all these things. But the real question is: does he have faith in the writer or the director or the actors? James Cameron once said, it is the actors who make the work work, and I believe this has been done since 2008.
Needless to say, watch the audience at 1408 and see what I’m talking about. Your hair will stand on end until you close the trust. Really gripping, really chilling, really effective. After that slow stall, it’s a breath of fresh air.
