This time Art reviews 1408
And this time Art reviews a movie that legitimately freaks out Art. Like I squirm in my seat. Like I find reasons to look away from the screen. Like I’m wondering if this was such a good idea to watch so late at night.
But I can’t 100% put my finger on why, though I’ll try. Certainly, all the bits are things I’ve seen before in some fashion. But holy smokes this movie gets me by the googie everytime.
There’s something about hotel rooms maybe. They are always a bit disquieting to me. Then there’s a person slowly losing their ever-loving mind. One of my greatest fears certainly. Oh, and here’s an emotion gut punch with the familial trauma revisited on your most loved ones (I’ll forgive the story the usual cheap shot of dead kid because I think the story earns it, which is high praise from me). It’s also got one of the best depictions of endless torture I think I’ve seen on film. So, from that perspective the film has great story bits to build from.
And in honesty most of that freakout for me is front loaded. But the feat is no less impressive for that. I lack the cinematic language to convey it, but there’s something about the shots, particularly in the first quarter, that absolutely put me at unease. It gives a sense of being off kilter the second we enter the hotel. And even before the room shenanigans begin it’s just “wrong”. So it’s got that going for it too.
But even with the first sections being the ones that actually spook me out, the middle sections that I don’t find so spooky are still gripping my attention. Within its own logic it has a certain propulsiveness. That carries it through to the end.
It also has a surprisingly stacked cast if you look at the list. Cusack is in rare form and it might be perfect casting. And I don’t mean that to disparage his general acting; I think he knocks it out of the park here. I buy everything he’s selling. Which is good because the movie is like 90% him. But, even bit parts have actors like Tony Shalhoub and Isiah Whitlock.
In full honesty I find the ending hokey. But I also think ending a scary movie/story is maybe one of the hardest things to do right. So I’ll forgive the 5 minutes or so that don’t land for the rest of the movie that I really found spooky.
A bit of an aside, but I chose this image because I thought it was the best representation of the movie I could find. While the famous one with Cusack and Jackson is cool I think it misrepresents the role of Sam Jackson in the movie. And most of the others were either bad or even more misleading. This one was the best I could find without trying very hard.
On the mundane level it’s about a person coming to recognize and face the wrongs they’ve done that they themselves find unforgivable. And recognizing that by refusing to face those truths they just inflict greater harm on those around them.
On the realm of story and myth and spirit? Well, it’s about an evil fucking room. Art highly recommends.