1408-a review

John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, and Jasmine Jessica Anthony are part of the cast of 1408.

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I'm not one for horror so I'll see how this goes. According to the YouTube trailer comment section, I do know that there are two endings to this movie. Oh wow, he's a ghost/paranormal writer. Interesting. Oh, he switched niches. If you're being warned this much, might as well not do whatever it is but not everyone likes warnings or themselves. This could be based on intrigue or whatever but there has to be a level of logic. Oh, he liked his first book too. Hmm…father trauma. This is the 2nd time it's been hinted in connection to his first book.

Michael doesn't believe in supernatural beliefs or creatures. He also doesn't believe there's a God to protect people from them. He said, "It's an evil fucking room." Ha! We get more answers necessary for him and the audience during their elevator ride. Hmm, Michael says 'stay scared' often sort of like as a tagline. I wonder why he wants fear. Could be related to his trauma. Wanting to feel something so he tests the limits?

They part after a last moment with Mr. Olin which he uses to still beg him not to do this. Michael should have seen the sincerity and regret in his eyes. Yes, people forge the truth to sell things but Mr. Olin's conversation compared to the couple Michael spoke to at the other motel is alarmingly different. He looked at the book of deaths as he walked to the room. He is so bold I could never. Did he walk in a circle? The cigarette is his coping mechanism and test? Like to see if it moves?

It's crazy how you can see him already unraveling. He's not as dry, witty and confident. He's extremely shaken up. Yeah, you believe that call? Olin talked about how they only enter there once a month and follow protocol but the cheerful desk receptionist on the call was not unusual…especially when the first thing that was asked was whether he was ready to check out. This could be a test to question him like, "Do you still not believe? Are you done or do you want more?" Oh, it's a real person? Nahhh, no way. Is it?Called him a jackass haha. This could be the ghosts' (or whatever it is)opinion of him and the other people who stayed in the room.

The repeated song of they've only just begun is smart. At first, I thought it might be something sentimental or from his memory to haunt him subtlety but I guess they're warning him. To be fair, he could open the door when the engineer came in to help with the thermostat. Despite his trouble, he was able to open it and was probably able to leave as he considered following the engineer to give a tip but didn't. Probably his last chance to leave. I was right the phone call did not have a real person on the other side and that was his last chance to leave that room, through the door at least. Lmaooo, is he talking to himself? Creepy. Wow, the lamp disappeared. Huh? Uhn Uhn, you couldn't pay me and he still has 46 minutes left. Most people don't last an hour in the room.

Lmaooo, he deduced that it could be the booze and chocolates causing all this which isn't a bad deduction but how do you explain the axe murderer who was behind you? Oh, hallucination hm. A video of his daughter and wife shows up and he cries. Before taking more alcohol, he sees ghosts of the former victims jumping out the window and the first one looks at him as if to say that's the only way or what he has to do. He sees his dad and he says some eerie things about Michael ending up like he did. He seems institutionalized. I thought the dad was going to try strangling him tbh. They say Michael was traumatized but how? Was it due to his dad's sickness changing him?

He tries remembering all he did to get there but it all seems foggy. Creepy cracking wall and flowing blood. Is that blood or coffee? I think it's blood (subtitles say it's blood). There's a map but the fact that it's there shows it's not an actual escape plan. He decides to walk on the ledge of the building to get into the next room. Let me guess there are no windows for the next room? Ha! This is deeply horrifying, tragic, traumatic, everything. Yikes, the map changed. Oh, this is…Dear God! Huh, he still has his recorder.

His daughter, Katie died. She did not pull through in her health battle and that's why he doesn't believe in God anymore. Oh, this is horrible. Huh, he has a phone. And laptop?! Huh, it worked? I guess to talk to Lily before he dies. Questionably considerate…hm. Lmao, what? He just left. He didn't even divorce her? Yikes, but I guess the trauma of losing their daughter was handled differently.

Huh, he finds a way into the air vent. What the actual? He sees him, Katie as a baby and Lily in the other room. Wait, isn't that the same lady he saw in the lobby before entering the room? Did the ghosts hear he was coming and prep for him? Ha! He screams, "Jesus Christ!" and tries to get away but something grabs his leg. He escapes and ends up back in the room. He's manic after seeing a ghost (or something)of Olin who asks him what he's searching for, why he came to this place and why he enjoys shattering people's hopes. I like that they show us his perspective and reality in many shots to show it's something he's experiencing but to a point not really there or returns to normal. We see this in the scene of him and his dad. His father appears to him as seemingly institutionalized in a room and it is shown that he is in his hotel bathroom touching the edge of the bathtub despite the thought of him touching the sides of his dad's wheelchair. He asks what Olin and to an extent, others (the ghosts or just in general) want from him.

He decides to drink and read the Bible saying It wins or rather that God wins but the Bible is blank. As he tears the pages he sees the conversation he had with Lily and Katie about the afterlife and God. He told Katie he really believed in God. She asks if there are people where she's going (this aligns with what Olin talked to Michael about as he said people would have something to be hopeful for in the afterlife (ghosts) and he shatters it). Katie dies and he tells Lily that they should've helped Katie to fight more instead of filling her head with stories. Lily said that Katie liked those stories but he walked out saying he wanted to get some cigarettes and I believe that's when he left and didn't return.

The fax sent Katie's dress. That's just rude. He's experienced different temperatures so far. Hot, warm, cool and cold. Oh, he started a fire. He's still with his recorder though. Hmm, they allowed him to talk to Lily again. The cops are there in 1408 but there's no one there. SHUT UP!!! Where is he? Oh no, poor Lily. She would feel like she couldn't save two people. Wow, they interrupt his video call to Lily. They create another square of him and use it to tell her to come to him and just go into the room. Ah! And it winked back at him. Nooo, what did she do? She doesn't deserve that. It's kind of funny how their video is so much clearer than his though.

Ah! When they took over I was confused but I was also confused they allowed him to do this. The words from their video started off nicely. I thought they wanted to show him that he should have apologized to her all this time but if they're telling her to come to the hotel, not talk to anyone and head straight to the room, then I guess they either want her to see him dead, or they want to kill her (or make him think he's killing her. This would make him feel like he didn't do enough for Katie, and wouldn't be able to anything for Lily).

Huh, the room is destroying. He's getting rain and thunder, he's hearing the sounds and voices from the painting as the room floods. We go back to the beginning when he's washed out and was on land. Hmm, where's this going? No way this is real. Is this…? Nah, no way. We still have 24 minutes of the movie, so let's see. Lily thinks he's ready to deal with Katie and other things as they spend the day together after his discharge from the hospital. But we saw 1408 on the banner so, hmmm. "coincidence? I think not." Dear God! Hahaha, this makes more sense though. This was dramatic, awful, and twisted yet brilliant. Showing you what it could be like. Why does the room look burnt?

They gave him hope and snatched it away. That scene was traumatic, my God! It's the perfect example of shattering hope though. Oh, hell no. I'm not asking for that door to open. We hear the preacher that we heard in the beginning again. The door vanishes and we see Katie. Poor guy. He knows that's not really her but he's in so much pain and loved seeing her. Shit, they made her crumble into ashes. That's fucked up. Damn, this room is evil. That's just vile. They made him lose her twice. That's beyond messed up. He has only a couple of seconds left and he vents. He breaks and tears things apart as the countdown continues. His seconds end and it starts again.

Oh wow, they said they wouldn't kill him since everyone has free will to either relive the hour or take "the express checkout system" as he sees various nooses. Hey, they cheated! He lasted an hour and won this twisted game but they cheated. Hm, the alcohol and cigarette from the beginning are back. That's cold. What kind of…? They really put his grave beside his daughter's. Their audacity is scary. Oh, he decides to not die how they want. He wants to be engulfed in the fire as he smokes a cigarette. Wow, this really happened. The fire alarm in the building goes off and people evacuate the building. Oh, poor Lily. They try to stop his way but he prevents that. The firefighters are able to go to him and get him out of the room. This could be a representative of his idea of hell as he talked about the stages early on. Ha! Mr.Olin says " Well done" to him while sitting down with a cigar and a scotch. Hmm, is he a part of the ghost brigade to teach him a lesson? Samuel L. Jackson was perfect for this!

He burned down the room. So maybe that's what Olin was saying "well done" for but he was too relaxed about the fire as others scrambled. Ahhhhh Michael got out for real. For real, for real and he's recuperating in the hospital. The Dolphin Hotel is closed and Michael decides to not do ghost stories anymore as he said he's checked out but that day saved his life. He and Lily move in together. He's working on a book but tells Lily to give him the recorder he had while in the room because you can't always get rid of bad memories. He searches through it. He hears his conversation with Katie, and Lily hears it too.

Did they give him this as a gift or reminder? because I don't think he was even recording that moment. I'm confused about the end. What does his smirk mean? Is it to confirm his experience and to tell her he told her so OR is she in the room now? I saw in the YouTube comment section that in one version he dies and in another version, he doesn't. The movie was incredible. Huh, I wonder what would've happened if he hadn't taken the booze or chocolate haha. John Cusack killed his performance, everyone did well, and Samuel L. Jackson was great per usual.

Originally written in my "Brief and not-so-Brief opinions: Part 4" article.

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