Monday, November 12, 2007

Room 1408 ( 2007 )

"Room 1408" is an adaptation of Stephen's Kings short novel and take us on a strange phenomenal journey of hallucinations,and terror.Like Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller "Psycho", and Nimrod Antul's "Vacancy" director, Mikeal Hafstrom directs our attention to a hotel room where the unexpected happen, in this movie adaption of a short story by Steven King of the same name."

John Cusack portrays a famed occult writer who is highly sceptical about the very thing he writes about....ghosts. Samuel L. Jackson plays the sinister owner of the Dolphin Hotel who introduces this movie's antics of horror, and the unexpected in this psychological/ horror thriller.

Famed occult writer Mike Enslin (John Cusack) makes a visit to New York's Dolphin Hotel. The Dolphin Hotel is an interesting place for Mike Enslin because of its legacy of horror that have affected every tenant that checked into its isolated room, numbered 1408. The residents check in, but they don't check out having either been murdered or driven impossibly insane. Wanting to check into room 1408 Enslin decides to investigate these ghostly findings, and eventually write another successful story for his newest occult book.

When meeting the hotel manager portrayed by Samuel Jackson, Enslin is warned not to check into room 1408 because of its hideous legacy.So adamant is he not to let Enslin enter this room he tries to bribe him with unreleased material in a folder of other unknown cases in room 1408. Enslin insists though, and checks into room 1408. Upon checking in his nightmares start to begin.. He encounters a radio that won't turn off, and its digital numbers spins out of control; he sees a woman jump from a window, a hideous looking person lunges at him with an ax, bleeding walls, a decomposed corpse that chase him while he attempts to escape, and a host of strange noises that echo his room. Encompassed with the torments of room 1408 Enslin comes to grips with himself and goes on a pathology of hallucinations of his past and future that seemingly never ends his dilemma in room 1408.

Personally I thought this movie was a bit confusing at times, especially as it seemed to shift into a different gear after his trials in the room and didn't really seem to make any sense.Horror fans will no doubt enjoy this film though which certainly has many fine moments despite a lack of coherence.

PAR BOILED