Theatrical Review of 1408

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Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel is a spooky room. A great number of people have died by various means in this room; most, though, jump out the window. It´s gotten so bad that hotel manager Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) forbids anyone from staying in it. The room gets cleaned once a month by Olin and two housekeepers with the door wide open; repair men are loathe to enter it. And against that backdrop, the author of haunted hotel books (John Cusack) checks in for one night, to see exactly what´s going on.

There should be a sub-genre within the horror category simply titled "man vs. room." Why? There are many films which pit people against their supposedly safe surroundings, asking them to survive through whatever means necessary. Just this year, we´ve had "Vacancy," "Bug" and "1408," all concerned with the characters limited environment. But where this film knocks the others out of the park is the sheer audaciousness with which is goes about its business.

This isn´t a movie in which the ghoolies and ghosties (to borrow a phrase) are out to teach Mike Enslin (Cusack) not to live in the past where his daughter died. And no one is asking Enslin to set them free from their decades long imprisonment. Yes, the former generic storyline is present, but "1408" is more than a simple morality tale: it´s a survival tale and a damn good one at that.

Why is that when a whole host of other "man vs. room" films have come up woefully short (the remake of "Psycho" being one such example)? It´s because at every turn Enslin does the things we expect a normal human being to do. He has a healthy skepticism before checking into the Dolphin; he assumes the general manager is behind the odd occurrences. Enslin even goes to great lengths to get himself out of the room using the tools at his disposal. His cell phone, the computer and even the outside window ledge. In short, he´s smart, but not so smart as to engender his own skepticism from the audience.

And that´s the greatest asset of "1408"-it´s ability to be rooted in reality while paranormal activity runs rampant. It´s in no small part due to Cusack´s reputation as the everyman and his un-action hero look. Here, he plays largely against himself in what amounts to a one person stage play. There are bookends which broaden the story just a bit, but by and large, this is Cusack´s film to make or break. He does extraordinarily well, bringing to life a rational, logical and human character. His main title co-star, Jackson, gets 95% less to do in the picture but one scene and one line stands out above all others.

It´s not an acting moment; it comes near the end of the film after all the broohaha has died down. Olin, sitting in his office with a drink, utters one line to himself about Enslin, seeming to suggest something else is going on in the story. As these types of stories go, that is the last we see of the character, leaving a whole host of story possibilities open to the viewer.

I´ll admit that the bookends, designed invariably to flesh out the Enslin character, turn out a bit boring. The "scares" (more like jumps or thrills) don´t need to come from the opening shot, but we know what the movie is about and, frankly, we just want to get there. Put Cusack in the room, let him act with all manner of surprises waiting for him. A very minor subplot (and what amounts to a cameo) with Tony Shalhoub doesn´t matter in the long run; neither does Enslin surfing or bopping his head. Despite what that story wants us to believe, we never do buy into the theory he´s imagining the Dolphin. The experience is as real to us as it is to him and, thus, when ex-wife Lily (Mary McCormack) delivers the sucker punch via their internet connection, we start to question everything that has come before. Has the wool been pulled over our eyes too?

Let´s talk about that internet connection for a minute. We´re supposed to believe the Dolphin and this room in particular is wired for wireless internet. Simple enough as most hotels are in this day and age. But nothing else about this hotel is modern. The shower is free standing, the thermostat looks to be at least twenty years old, the wallpaper is an ugly floral pattern any decorator would tell you to change and the lobby itself retains what should be its old school look. But wireless internet? If you´re going to go through the work of installing that, why not some new digital thermostats? Ah well, it´s a very minor nitpick in the grand scheme of the movie.

Screenwriters Matt Greenberg ("Halloween H20"), Scott Alexander ("The People vs. Larry Flynt") and Larry Karaszewski ("Agent Cody Banks") work off of a short story by Stephen King which methodically boxes Enslin into the proverbial corner. Every exit is another dead end and when he tries to reach another room via an outdoor ledge early in his stay, the audience can´t help but hold its breath. It´s surely too early in the film for Enslin to find his way out, but dammit, some part of us still hopes he will.

On the scale of 1 to 10, "1408" rates an impressive 7. This is John Cuack´s movie to make or break. Guess where he ends up?

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