I realized after that last one that I spend way to much time on synopsis and not enough on review so for 1408 (the one non-classic horror movie from our last round) I'll just send you the link to the IMDB synopsis.
So first of all, I'm not sure why it took me this long to see this movie, I mean, Samuel L. Jackson is in it and its in the horror section, where have I been?!
Overall I really liked this movie, despite John Cusak's odd expressions (maybe its just me but doesn't that guy make some super weird faces?) Samuel L. was resplendent as the hotel manager in a snazzy suit and a stern glare and the best part of the movie is that there was no explanation. This is not a poltergeist, a spell, an angry spirit that hasn't moved one, this is as Sam puts it "an evil fucking room." No one says why 1408, of all the many rooms in this hotel is evil but it sure as hell is. As the room takes Cusak on a trip into insanity you can really feel the desperation growing in his character, Mike. Another movie that takes place almost entirely in one room, the difference is that here there is no demon song and dance to relieve the feeling of dread that creeps in as you realize that Mike literally cannot leave the room. He can't climb out the window except to jump to his death, he can't climb through the air shaft and her certainly cant just open the door. He can't call or email for help and the room even uses him to lure another victim to the room, his estranged wife. The phone is answered by a cheery female voice that tells him that he can check out whenever me may like (the accommodating room then provides several nooses, should Mike be ready to check out) but he may never leave. Tormenting Mike with images of his dead daughter the room makes a believer out of a skeptic in no time. Most cruelly the room even creates an alternate reality for Mike, where he has left the room and is being taken care of by his wife, only to snatch it all back and leave him in a pile of ashes clutching his dying-yet-again daughter.
I am commonly plagued by mental questions when watching movies of this sort such as, "if the hotel manager was really so sure this room would kill Mike and he was really so worried about it, why didn't he clear the floor and have police or someone standing near, have someone come in every hour on the hour, etc etc" however at the end it is suggested that the manager invited Mike to the room and intended for him to destroy it, as he does. It is unclear however whether a simple fire would really have any power to destroy such an "evil fucking room." Is the manager going to leave it burned out? How is this any different than just not letting people into it? Why did they bother cleaning it if no one was going to stay in it?
These questions dont really hinder the movie, they just bug me.
Based on a Stephen King short story of the same name this movie really retains the feel of his work in which you can't question why, you just have to believe and be scared.
Again, not horrific by modern standards, 1408 was more mentally frightening that outwardly scary or gory. I never jumped, I never screamed, I never covered by eyes but I did go to bed with a feeling of unease and too many thoughts in my head. It's kind of like the idea of a personal hell, the room knows how to get to you and thats a scary thought. You get the feeling that had someone walked in Mike would have been sitting perfectly still in the still perfectly arranged room and that everything that occurred in the movie was entirely in his head and the idea of something being able to control your mind that strongly is terrifying.
There are two endings to this one so check them both out. One happy and one sad, both are ok but neither really gave the movie the final umph it needed to really shine, I personally would have been fine with one that left you hanging, Mike blows up the room and a big cloud of smoke and flame is the last thing you see before the credits role.
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