Seen: June 23rd, 2007
Format: Theatre
Rating: 6
1408 was little tough to rate. I went into the picture with ideas preconceived from the trailer, as most film goers do. I thought I knew what the premise was. I thought I had a handle on what was going to happen, but was interested to see how it all played out.
Now I'm not so sure.
One reason I was interested in this film was seeing John Cusack in a horror/thriller picture. I like Cusack's work. While I can't say that I'm a big fan of his, he does have the habit of picking interesting films to work in. His films tend to be a bit off the beaten path and he seems to prefer characters that are generally conflicted and far from boring. Let's say I'm a fan of his films.
This one's a little different. I've not seen him take on the supernatural before. He does a solid job in a difficult role and serves both the film and the character well.
Sam Jackson does a simple turn in his role. He's effective, but not over the top. He fits Olin well and delivers him with the appropriate restraint. Even when the weirdness starts, he plays it true.
I enjoyed the pretext in the first act, all the moments leading up to the Dolphin. There's a lot of development in a short period of time. We learn a lot about Mike, but there's plenty left to discover. This drives the film well.
The real star here is the script. This is a strange story, composed of elements from several standards. It's a hodge podge of haunted house, relatives from the other side, spiritual reconciliation, deal with the devil and a few more. The primary theme is Mike's journey, but all of the elements come into play. In general, it works. At least until near the end.
At some point, I lost a grip on things. I thought I was following along well enough, even through a few twists and turns that weren't expected, but were a bit trite. But then it all went off the rails a bit, and I was left wondering what was reality and what wasn't. Maybe that's the point. Maybe I'm supposed to be sharing Mike's confusion and disorientation. Regardless, it left me feeling unsatisfied. It felt a little too loose, a little too patched up to be a solid resolution.
The sets here are amazing, considering the small space used and the effects that happen therein. The production design is understated when appropriate, but goes way over the top when necessary. Combined with the effects, the film definitely becomes other worldly. I'm reminded of Gilliam's work at certain points by the subtle surrealism.
You might like this one better than I did. It's certainly a good film, and there's tons of material here for late night debates over symbolism and motivations and what "really" happened. It's well crafted and produced. It just left me missing something.
The Good: Solid surrealistic horror
The Bad: Fizzling ending
The Ugly: Restarting the countdown
1 comment:
Like you, I also appreciated the set-up at the beginning. By the time the door to 1408 closed, I had the same feeling in my stomach as when the car clicks into chains for the ascent up a rickety wooden roller-coaster. I'm pretty sure I grabbed the seat a little bit tighter.
I thought the scares were decent enough, without relying entirely on cheap boo! scares (though there were a lot), and playing upon a hotel room's inherent claustrophobia and anticipation of said boos. Really, could there be any more shots in mirrors and through doorways behind Mike?
The twists were weak, like you said, and I would've been happier without the last 5 minutes. The movie should've ended with the demise of room 1408.
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