Checking into suite 1408 of the notorious Dolphin Hotel for his new project, titled “Ten Nights in Haunted Hotel Rooms,” he defies the warnings of the hotel manager Olin (Jackson) that he is the first person in years to stay in the haunted room.Īnother bestseller may be in the works for Enslin, but like many of King’s heroes, not before he goes through trials and tribulations that will change him from a skeptic to a believer, forcing him in the process to confront some deep, personal demons.

However, after a number of best-selling horror books, which discredit paranormal events in the world’s most infamous haunted houses and graveyards, Enslin has no real proof of life, or rather after-life.Įnslin is a familiar screen type, and thus we know that he is bound for a comeuppance of sorts, a shocking experience that will forever change his presumably solid and stable value system. In “1408,” the protag is also a renowned writer, Mike Enslin (Cusack), a rational-pragmatic novelist who believes only in what he can see with his own eyes. Stephen King himself has contributed to this turf with “Shining,” starring Jack Nicholson as a blocked writer, which Kubrick made into a brilliant film in 1980, and then “Misery,” also about a writer (James Caan), stuck in a cabin in an isolated icy road with a sadistic fan (Kathy Bates).

Thematically, “1408” belongs to the sub-genre of horror tales set in a confined space, be it hotel, hostel, or a single room. The freakish scares in “1408” derives directly from the development of character and plot. Rather refreshingly, “1408” is an old-fashioned horror tale, more a psychological thriller and a ghost story than a slasher-torture flick full of gimmicks and special effects. Question is, can the theatrical market support so many horror flicks It’s hard to recall a time when so many genre films are made–practically one or two every week. Jackson, well-served by the skillful Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom, elevates the horror feature above the routine, resulting in quite a pleasing psychological thriller. Literary-speaking, “1408,” is based on a second-tier Stephen King text, but a gifted cast, headed by John Cusack and Samuel L.

Room 1408 full movie alternate