1408　2007/08/03

By Nancy Tu　Translated by Ann Lee

Rating: PG-13　Horror/ Thriller

After the the death of his daughter, writer Mike Enslin (John Cusack) loses any belief in spirits, ghosts and other forms of paranormal activity, choosing instead to believe only in what he can see with his own eyes. However, upon learning about the Dolphin Hotel's notoriously-haunted room 1408, he decides to stay there over the objections of hotel manager Mr. Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), who warns him repeatedly not to stay there. Enslin goes ahead with his plan but, at midnight, strange things begin to happen. These include ice and snow, tsunami-like occurrences and terrifying apparitions that include his deceased daughter.

Haunted hotels and mansions are classic, effective settings for thriller-type movies—most people today are familiar with "The Shining", another Stephen King work set to film which, after two decades, is still one of the top 10 scariest movies in the U.S. 1408's director Mikael Hafstrom uses King to create a suspenseful atmosphere and downright tense thriller, which shows somewhat of a return to film for the famous novelist. The premise may be thin, and its action doesn't always make a lot of sense. But is it effective in making your knuckles white? You bet!

1408 works in a way other films can't—it's not about ghouls jumping out from behind bedposts and murderous madmen with one-track minds for killing. It works for its thrills. Its scares aren't cheapened by over-the-top computer effects and buckets of blood—the movie bores into your brain and releases the fears inside of you and makes you face them. This movie is what good horror is all about.

Although some might say the plot is thin and unbelievable, 1408 stands on its own and doesn't seek to explain everything. Sure, it requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but so do most horror classics. Like many movies based on Stephen King novels, the main characters start the movie as atheists; after encountering true evil, they tend to search deep within their troubled souls and confront their personal demons. 1408 is no different.

It never once loses its sense of the eerie, and remains unsettling throughout. I mean, what can you expect from an apparently murderous hotel room that attempts to kill visitors by reading their minds and torturing them with sinister past transgressions? Perhaps this is trivial but the movie's title could hold some of its horror as well. If you add each digit together, 1, 4, and 8, the total comes to 13—a notoriously unlucky number. Of course, if you thank that sort of stuff is baloney, you'll just have to watch it for yourself— perhaps you'll find yourself a bit more able to believe.

For specific showing times, please refer to theatre notices.