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Michael is a
writer who focuses on haunted places in
America. Right now he's writing about haunted hotels
and so far it's been a complete bust - as usual. See,
Michael doesn't even believe in ghosts as he has
never seen one. But when he checks into room 1408
at the Dolphine Hotel, all of that is about to change.
Forget 666, 1408 is the new number of terror! After
the heaps of crap that we've had to sit through over
the past couple of months, 1408 finally breaks that
pattern and proves to us that there is still hope
for the horror genre (which has been suffering from
an extreme case of inflation lately). I have to say
though, I was a bit sceptical heading into 1408 as
Stephen King's movies have been decreasing in quality
and originality over the past couple of years. And
sure enough, 1408 doesn't feel brand new... well,
that's an understatement, it's more or less a
reinterpretation of The Shining, but nevertheless,
1408 feels like a fresh breeze in the ghost story
department after all these ghost girls haunting every
place that they can find.
I'm so proud to be able to give a glowing review to
this movie as it was directed by Swede, Mikael Håfström
(who was responsible for the mediocre Swedish slasher
flick "The Drowning Ghost). I truly believe that he's
the main reason as to why this movie turned out to be
as great as it was. Clearly it was not due to Stephen
King's writing. I mean, seriously, a hotel with a
haunted room where a writer slowly starts to go crazy?
+there's snow and liquor involved. Isn't it all a bit
too familiar? The reason why 1408 worked was because
of the slick directing, the top-notch acting (glad to
see Samuel L. Jackson back in quality films) and the
execution of the story.
The entire movie drips of suspense and chills and when
the clock radio starts to do a countdown of one hour,
you can really feel the panic oozing from the screen.
You might think that a movie that takes place in one
hotel room might be a little dull, but believe you
me, there's not a dull moment to be found in here.
Every scene is very thought through and you can tell
that everyone involved in the project put a 110%
into it. In other words, it didn't feel like a sloppy
rush-job like most horror flicks these days *cough*
SAW franchise *cough*.
I'm happy to see that the first successful horror
flick of the year is actually a good one - meaning
that the American audience might actually have some
taste after all (I strongly questioned their taste
when When A Stranger Calls turned out to be a massive
hit). Bottom line is, I really enjoyed 1408. It's
creepy, it'll make you jump out of your seat, it's
clever and it has a couple of unexpected twists in
it. So If you're going to see a ghost movie in the
cinema this year, make sure that it's this one.
PG-13.
Brilliant score which adds to the atmosphere and
creates a suspenseful mood. This is the stuff we
want to hear more of.
Perhaps not the most original story Stephen King has
written but due to all the creepy ghost girls that
we've seen lately, it comes off as a fresh breeze,
and a much needed one at that. 1408 is a truly
terrifying and suspenseful horror flick which I can
strongly recommend for everyone. Whether you're a
ghost movie fan or not, check this one out.
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