This past weekend I went to see 1408. I didn’t know much about the movie until the night before I went when I googled some trailers. I was sold on the trailers alone. $8.75 for a ticket? No problem!

I knew that it was based on a Stephen King story but I hadn’t read it. I have faith in King though so I went into the movie believing I’d be scared. The movie ended up being pretty suspenseful. I can’t say it was terrifying though. I think what scared me the most was the loud sounds…you know, the music gets soft and creepy and then out of no where BAM! Those made me jump more than anything else. There were no monsters or demons (real ones) to battle.

This movie was more of a psychological thriller. Mike Enslin (Cusack), an author notorious for writing about haunted places (because he doesn’t believe in them) has chosen to stay in room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel over night. The hotel manager (Jackson) lays out a pretty thick story full of horror about that room. He claims nobody has ever lasted more than an hour in it before they commit some form of suicide. Enslin, shaken but not deterred, decides to stay anyway. It’s not long before the room starts tormenting him with tricks and apparitions. I won’t go into detail, but most of the things that happen in that room have to do with aspects of Enslin’s own life, leading me to believe that he is fighting his own demons in that room. He’s claimed to be a selfish man - and it’s obvious throughout the movie that there are a lot of unresolved issues from his past, specifically his daughter’s death.

About halfway through the film, it appears as if he’s managed to escape the room. This is where I got disappointed because I expected more of a struggle and a lesson learned on Enslin’s part. But sure enough he ended up back in the room and that was all a day dream. Yay. Finally his daughter appears in the room and tells him how she wishes he and mommy could stay with her. It doesn’t take long before he sets the room on fire. The blaze is seen from the street and firefighters rescue him.

Skip to a few days later when he and his wife are unpacking in a new home, he finds the tape recorder he used in room 1408. He plays it back and sure enough, there is his daughter’s voice. It pretty much ends there. I’m not sure if that’s just pointing out she was really there, or if she got her wish and he and mommy are with her forever in some sick, twisted horror-movie way. As if to say “this will never end.” I dunno. All I know is that it was a pretty good movie. I was pleasantly surprised.

Later I did recall that 1408, when added up, equals 13 and the floor that he was staying on was the 13th floor even though they called it the 14th. (You know how some hotels leave the number 13 out and rename that floor the 14th - it’s still the 13th whether it’s written or not!)

I decided to read the short story that his movie was based on and I’m a bit disappointed by the story. I think it should be read before seeing the movie because the movie was much more impressive. But what do you expect out of a 50-page story?