1408 (2007) Dir: Mikael Håfström
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Mikael Håfström's 2007 adaptation of Stephen King's short horror is a film that had a lot of good things going for it, but suffered a couple of little drawbacks that stopped this being a truly great mystery horror.
I'm not sure how much of the story was in King's, but it certainly felt like one of his narratives. The spooky horror and brutal twists were all very him. I enjoyed how it all played out. My only real complaint was that some of the backstory and character relationships felt a little jarring - at least compared to the main plot.
This brings me onto my main gripe, which are the film's tonal issues. They are not significant, but they are noticeable. As illuded to, this mainly revolves around the backstory subplot and the main narrative of the film. They don't quite match up how they should.
I enjoyed the practical effects a lot, I think there were some really well filmed scenes, particularly those involving water. However, the CGI was very much of the mid 2000s, which meant it wasn't outright terrible, but it definitely wasn't great either.
I usually have quite mixed feelings when it comes to John Cusack - he can, on occasion, be rather grating. However, I must admit, I quite enjoyed his witty, narcissistic cynicism. He had a couple of shaky moments, but all-in-all I thought he was quite decent as the film's protagonist.
Samuel L. Jackson was quite brilliant in his supporting role. Unfortunately, he only has a handful of scenes before he all but disappears from the film. It is worth saying however, that his character wasn't exactly needed any more than he was used, but I guess that shows how good Jackson was.
Supporting performances from Mary McCormack and Jasmine Jessica were a mixed bag, despite how minimal their appearances were. McCormack in particular was rather spotty at times. I just wasn't all that convinced by her.
Overall, this was a very solid mystery horror that had some genuinely very good qualities to it, but unfortunately suffered tonally at times. Ultimately though, I think this is a fairly strong Stephen King adaptation that has plenty for casual fans of both the acclaimed author and the horror genre as a whole to enjoy.
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