Ogwaros Iwenâl

1408 understands the idea behind the Silent Hill series far better than the Silent Hill movie did: a malevolent presence, represented as a place, feeding off the psyche of its victims.  1408’s greatest strength is the build up - Samuel L. Jackson is nice as the hotel manager, for what little of the movie he is in.  And the very slow burn of things going wrong within the room keeps things nice and tense without resorting to sting scares.  The room has this devious habit of giving the victim exactly what they want and then ripping it right out from their arms.  It’s sort of like the bad endings to the Silent Hill games - the victim doesn’t find redemption or penance for their past misdeeds, only sorrow and death.

Contrast this with the Silent Hill movie.  There were scenes that were done right (the bathroom scene) but for the most part any sort of psychological terror is thrown out the window.  It’s all about the monsters out to get our hero, be they otherworldly or stupid cultists.  Really disappointing overall.

Unfortunately, though, 1408 goes off the rails about halfway in and never gets back on track.  In the end, the “evil fucking room” is just that.  Early on it’s ambiguous if any of what is going on is actually real.  Towards the end, it starts interacting with the real world, making it clear that this is just another run-of-the-mill poltergeist horror film.

Not recommended.