Castle Vanian Halloween Special: Haunted Houses: 1408 (2007)

Wow. Just wow. 1408 was an Autopsy of Jane Doe movie for me. It came out of nowhere and hit hard. What were your first impressions, the first time you watched it?

It’s a very clever movie. Is he going mad? Has he been drugged? As the movie goes on, and he thinks he’s gotten out of it… you’re never quite sure where it’s going or how it’s going to end.

So, what you’re saying is that it’s a mindfuck?

Yeah, I guess I am.

For anyone who hasn’t seen 1408, I’ll sum it up by using a line from the movie. As Samuel L. Jackson's Gerald Olin said, “It’s an evil fucking room.”

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is an author who writes about haunted locations. One day, he gets a postcard telling him not to go into room 1408. What does he do? He decides to go in the fucking room. Of course. No matter how many times Olin tries to talk him out of it, Enslin has to go in the fucking room. Is it safe to say he got what he deserved?

It's that thing, isn’t it? As far as Enslin’s concerned, it’s all gibberish. He’s there to make people look stupid and make a buck off them. He’s so sure of himself – until he comes up against something that’s real. You still root for him, but at the same time, it’s nice to see him get a taste of the truth.

1408 is a bit of a slow start but, once it gets going, it doesn’t let up. It’s an insane ride. Were there any moments after he went into the room that stood out as your favourites?

Not any particular moments but there was that bloody music! If you want something that stays in your head long after the movie’s over, there’s “We’ve Only Just Begun” by The Carpenters. Earworm from hell, that. Every time I hear it now, it’s 1408. It’s rare for a movie to be able to do that.

You can’t go wrong with Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack. What a great pair. Enslin’s insolent attitude is a good contrast to Olin’s general badassery. You know neither one is going to flinch first.

Well, Enslin knows he’s got the upper hand. He’s got lawyers behind him so he knows he’ll win, no matter what Olin says. Everything SLJ does is just sauce for the goose because it makes him want to see the room even more.

I like that Olin basically tells Enslin that he doesn’t give a shit about him, he just doesn’t want to have to clean up the mess. The warning isn’t coming from a place of concern, it’s just a fed-up manager tired of other people’s problems. That’s so the role for Samuel L. Jackson.

As far as the acting goes, though, which do you think it the better actor? I mean, it’s John Cusack’s movie…

It is, but Samuel L. Jackson is the better actor. He tends to be typecast as the black attitude but he’s so much more than that. Jackson always manages to steal the show, no matter which role it is. Mind you, I think a lot of the roles are just him. It’s like Michael Cane said, when you can be yourself, acting becomes so much easier. The only sad thing is that SMLJ’s part is too small.

And we get a small role from Tony Shalhoub too, who we just watched in Thir13en Ghosts. We're seeing a lot of the same actors in our top movies.

We are. A lot of the same actors from movies released around the same time.

There are two different endings to this movie, something we didn’t know the first time we watched it. Tell me about the two different movies and which one you preferred.

The first time we watched 1408, we got the happy ending. He makes it out alive by beating the room. That’s the great moment Olin’s like, “Well done, Mr. Enslin. Well done.” But, of course, he gets out and no one believes him – until that tape recorder goes off and you can hear his daughter’s voice.” It was a good ending but, when I heard that there was an ending where he didn’t make it out, I thought I would prefer that.

That was the ending we had tonight. Enslin beats the room by burning it out but he stays there and dies. Olin takes his possessions to the widow at Enslin’s funeral, but she doesn’t want them so, back at his car, Olin plays the tape. That was what was great about the “bad” ending, that great jump from Samuel L. Jackson.

I liked the last scene with Enslin, where he’s standing in the burned-out room, smoking his cigarette, and his daughter calls. He just turns and walks through the door, which was kind of perfect.

It asn’t a bad ending, it’s just the other one was better.

Agreed. Any last thoughts on this mindfuck of a movie?

It’s a superb haunted hotel movie. It’s different. You don’t see it one coming. It’s quite brutal in parts and the pace doesn’t let up. It’s not even that slow at the beginning, really, but it does move to breakneck speed once he gets in the room. It’s actually a long movie but you don’t realize just how long it is because you’re so engrossed.