Zimmer 1408

Eine zu komplizierte Bewertung eines Hotels, wo es mir nicht gefallen hat. (05.12.2023)

Erstklassig. Aus einer schaurigen "Audioerzählung" meines geliebten S. K. ist ein in jeder Hinsicht überdurchschnittlicher Film entstanden, der Erinnerungen an die guten alten Zeiten hervorruft, als das Wort Horrorfilm nicht nur Dutzende von ekelhaft aufgeschlitzten Kehlen, ausgeweidete Därme und eine schwache Stimmung bedeutete. Daran, wie die Filmemacher mit der literarischen Vorlage gearbeitet haben, habe ich nichts auszusetzen. Es ist klar, dass der kurze Text für einen ganzen Film nicht gereicht hat und dass man viele Dinge ergänzen musste. Die hinzugefügten Passagen sehen aber so aus, als ob sie auch King geschrieben hätte! Das hat mich echt überrascht… Bewunderung haben der Regisseur, die Trickmacher und vor allem John Cusack verdient, der als allmählich verrückt werdender Schriftsteller einfach exzellent ist. Darabonts Der Nebel habe ich fünft Sterne gegeben. Warum sollte es bei Zimmer 1408 anders sein? Eine der besten Adaptionen von King. (09.09.2010)

I like Stephen King a lot. It's just that not all adaptations of his books are excellent. Unfortunately, I haven't had the privilege of reading the book, so I can't compare this time, but if I were to rate the movie, and I probably should since I'm typing this blabber here, it would be four stars. But for what, though? For the atmosphere? John Cusack's performance? The storyline? The satisfying ending, where the wife's bulging eyes confirm that her husband really did experience something? I add it up, I scratch twice, and yeah, it's a well-deserved 4 stars. Definitely for me. (11.05.2008)

I was expecting a cynical hero locked in a scary room. And I got a cynical hero with past trauma locked in a treacherous room, which can scare you so much that unexpected visitors will not be welcome at that moment. Even in the horror genre, there is occasionally a surprise that won't easily leave your mind and that you would gladly experience again, despite the unpleasant dose of fear. Cusack's The Raven deserves this privilege. (15.10.2008)

It’s no easy feat to bring Stephen King to the silver screen in a respectable form. While some have managed to successfully adapt several of his non-horror pieces, as for his scary stories, only one has been good. So it rather surprising that in the end it was a routineer like Håfström who managed to do something to even up this sorry imbalance. Because of limited space, 1408 relies solely on the central character. Luckily Cusak turned out to be an outstanding choice. His charisma supported by a good measure of cynicism, together with his unmistakable croaky voice holds the picture’s head above water even during the weaker moments. The fundamental problem here is that after the wonderful opening hour, the creators didn’t head straight for the finishing line, but needlessly and even unbecomingly drag it out. It begins with a wonderfully created atmosphere, lots of ideas and several borrowings from other stories by King (e.g. “The Ledge"). But in the second part, the tempo drops sharply, the story starts to get out of its depth and the atmosphere almost completely disappears. And there aren’t even any ideas anymore, just over and over variations of the same thing we have seen earlier on in the movie. As a result, 1408 ends up being the same as its literary counterpart is in comparison to other works by King. In other words, an example of above average filmmaking craft, but it definitely won’t stay lodged in your memory. P.S.: Of the three existing endings, by far the best is the not so happy one. (10.07.2007)