1408 (2007)

Director:

Mikael Håfström

Writers (WGA):

Matt Greenberg (screenplay) and
Scott Alexander (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 junio 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Frase comercial:

The Dolphin Hotel invites you to stay in any of its stunning rooms. Except one.

Plot:

A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.

Plot Keywords:

Haunted House | Molotov Cocktail | Painting | Surfing | Death

Awards:

4 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

An innovative horror film in a time when we desperately need one.

Cast

John Cusack	...	Mike Enslin
Paul Birchard	...	Mr. Innkeeper
Margot Leicester	...	Mrs. Innkeeper
Walter Lewis	...	Book Store Cashier
Eric Meyers	...	Man #1 at Book Signing
David Nicholson	...	Man #2 at Book Signing
Holly Hayes	...	Lady at Book Signing
Alexandra Silber	...	Young Woman at Book Signing
Johann Urb	...	Surfer Dude
Andrew Lee Potts	...	Mailbox Guy
Tony Shalhoub	...	Sam Farrell
Emily Harvey	...	Secretary
William Armstrong	...	Clay the Lawyer
Kim Thomson	...	Desk Clerk
Drew Powell	...	Assistant Hotel Manager

También conocida como:

1408 (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material including disturbing sequences of violence and terror, frightening images and language.

Duración:

104 min | USA:112 min (director's cut)

País:

USA

Idioma:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sonido:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Clasificación:

France:Unrated (with warning) | Argentina:13 | Malaysia:18PL | Italy:T | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Ireland:15A | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Hong Kong:IIB | Israel:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:16 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43561) | Chile:Y7 | UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:16 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Finland:K-13 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivialidades:

The story this film was based on was almost never written. Stephen King originally created the first few pages of '1408' for his nonfiction book, "On Writing," as an example of how to revise a first draft. The story, however, intrigued him, and he wound up not only finishing a complete draft, but adapting it for an audio-book compilation of short stories.

Goofs:

Continuity: After being in the heating ducts, when Mike falls out of the ceiling grate he is still soaking wet but when he stands up, immediately after, he is almost dry.

Quotes:

Mike Enslin: [after the toilet paper has been turned down, and the chocolates appear] Finally! Something to for me to write about! A ghost that offers turn down service!

Movie Connections:

References Vertigo (1958)

Soundtrack:

Watching the River Flow

An innovative horror film in a time when we desperately need one.

I've never seen a film quite like 1408. I suppose it's got to be one of the best horror movies ever made. But can you call this film a "horror"? Well, it's not the horror movie we're used to seeing in this day and age. The films that are supposed to scare us nowadays are made from the same recycled junk we've been seeing for years now. Nonsensical plots are dreamed up just to make use of the exciting range of CGI. Underdeveloped characters we don't care about are tortured/murdered by a psycho for no apparent reason. Most of the intended audience for these movies isn't even scared anymore.

Let me tell you, 1408 is different. Its main intention is not to scare you (though it undoubtedly will); it wants to tell you a story. It doesn't start out as a scary movie. John Cusack plays cult writer Mike Enslin, a man who visits supposed haunted spots in order to debunk their reputations in the mildly-successful books he writes with titles such as "10 Nights in Haunted Hotels". When the room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York is brought to his attention, research tells him that the death tally in the room is in the double digits. He sees the room as a solid ending chapter for the new book he's working on.

The film is based on a Stephen King short story, which I had the pleasure of reading before I saw the film. While the film does take its creative liberties, it never forgets where it comes from. Writers Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander, and Larry Karazewski seem to be very well-read on the author, and the movie always feels just like Stephen King--if you've ever read him, you know what I'm talking about. There have been times when I've been reading a novel of his and had to tell myself, "Calm down, it's just a book." There are moments in this film of such mind-gnawing anxiety, such high-adrenaline terror that I had to tell myself, "Calm down, it's just a movie." (Note: Stephen King does recommend the film.)

Director Mikael Håfström never takes his audience's intelligence for granted. We're never beaten over the head with the same thing; the film is always headed somewhere new and exciting. The innovative ideas here are just terrific.

John Cusack is brilliant as the cynical writer with a tragic past. He's never unbelievable, and he always nails the character down perfectly. There was never a time when I wasn't rooting for Mike Enslin in 1408. There was never a time when I did not want him to get out of the room. Cusack's emotional range is really put into play here, and the casting could not have been any more dead-on.

Samuel L. Jackson gives a chilling performance as a manager who is intent on not letting Mike enter room 1408. His determination to convince Mike not to enter the room only fuels Mike's determination to enter it. Through him, we pick up on the facts about the room Mike's research couldn't provide. His warnings give us chill bumps but leave enough open so that we still don't know what we're in for.

And with room 1408, you never really know what you're in for. Who am I to ruin it for you? Just know that this is not a mystery. We will not come to understand why the room is the way it is. There are, of course, those who will be disappointed by 1408--because when all is said and done, they will find it's not a movie about a freaky hotel room, but rather the man who's trapped in that hotel room and what he finds there.