1408

Yet another Stephen King novella heads to the screen with 2007’s 1408, an oddly balanced film about what goes on inside a creepy hotel room and what happens when a writer heads inside to check it out. 1408 was directed by Mikael Håfström, the Swedish director who was behind 2005’s Derailed, and starts out well enough but degenerates towards its last act into tepid and bland material.

John Cusack stars as writer Mike Enslin, who is obviously modelled after King himself as many of his characters are. Enslin investigates allegedly haunted houses and hotels for a living and writes about the results of his adventures, making him a mild attraction in the paranormal genre of books. Enslin is pessimistic and has no faith in the supernatural, especially elements of God. He has rejected faith because of the death of his daughter, which has also caused him to separate from his wife (Mary McCormack).

One day, Enslin learns of a mysterious hotel in New York City called the Dolphin. The Dolphin has a room, 1408, which has become infamous for strange activity. Upon arriving at the Dolphin, Enslin meets the hotel manager (Samuel L. Jackson). The manager pleads with Enslin not to stay in the room, but ultimately Enslin heads in anyway. The rest of the film follows Enslin’s experiences in 1408 as his life begins to unravel before his very eyes.

1408 is effective in many ways, but it also prematurely shoots its wad (so to speak) and the climax is less than enticing. Cusack is good as Enslin, portraying Stephen King’s writer prototype as well as most actors taking on the similar role. It is, again, akin to the role Johnny Depp took on in Secret Window and, again, the character grapples with similar issues. As such, Enslin has some depth and the fear he faces in the room certainly becomes real. Without the character build, 1408 would have been an utter stinker.

The problem with 1408 lies in the setup and in the delivery of the tension. Håfström plays with anxiety early on, establishing a solid groundwork and actually developing tension as Enslin makes the long walk to the room through the hallway. The build-up for the room itself is solid and we actually feel a sense of fear and dread as he closes the door behind him. A sort of “So this is the place?” feeling takes over and the director has done a nice job setting us up for what could be a hell of a ride.

There are some nice moments within the structure of the story, however, like when Enslin has an argument with his mini-fridge and with a miniature Samuel L. Jackson inside. Unfortunately, this nice moment is more funny than scary and the overabundance of stylish “effects” does the place in much too soon. We flop around back to Enslin’s regular life, or so it seems, for a few minutes before heading right back into the lion’s den. The pacing is slippery and, sadly, the story struggles to maintain the tension previously built by the director.

For the most part, 1408 loses its momentum and its sense of the theatrical far too often in order for it to be considered an effective thriller. Perhaps it works better as a sort of comic allegory about horror movies with too much juice in the box and not enough ability to temper it out properly. Håfström’s direction is competent enough, I suppose, but the overall product here is much too average to recommend. For a better King-based thrill, The Shining is an obvious choice with similar themes.

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