1408 Film Analysis

Made in 2007 and directed by Mikael Håfström, 1408 is a film which focuses on Mike Enslin played by John Cusack, a writer who searches for paranormal activity within America’s most haunted hotels, which leads him to stay in room 1408 within the Dolphin Hotel. Although the hotel’s manager, Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), warns him not to enter the room after the numerous suicides and natural deaths that have occurred there, Enslin’s stubbornness and disbelief in the supernatural takes over, and to his surprise, Olin warning wasn’t just for show. The film itself is based on a book, written by the famous horror Stephen King, therefore the audience is aware that this psychological horror will not disappoint.

In terms of following a narrative structure, it could be argued that 1408 both supports and challenges Todorov’s theory. Within the story there is a clear equilibrium set to establish the piece within the film, this would seemingly be Enslin’s everyday activities of staying in haunted hotels and going to the book signing. Although to an everyday citizen staying in haunted hotels would not be seen as ‘normal’, it is recognized that this is the case for Mike himself. Though, Olin’s warning about the room 1408 makes the audience alert that when he enters the room, and the door closes, this is the disruption. This is reinforced by the recognition, and the first act of paranormal activity within the room. Various acts of supernatural activity then reoccur throughout the film, which reinforced Todorov’s idea, and leads the audience to believe that the protagonist has to perform some kind of

activity, in order to stop the commotion. This is known as repairing the disruption and displayed by Enslin burning the room (destroying the supernatural). To the audience’s disbelief he is still alive and makes it out of the fire, along with destroying the room, which perfectly represents Todorov’s theory. Although this is the case, the audience is left on a cliff hanger since the remains of the voice recorder still haunts him and leaves a taste of what really happened within the room. This could suggest that really the supernatural was not defeated at all.

Todorov’s theory is representative of many film genres, not only horrors; however there are some expectations that need to be met. Within horror’s the audience expects to be scared, since this is the key within a successful horror movie, which I feel 1408 successfully portrays. Unlike slasher films, such as Saw or Hostel, 1408 is more psychological, therefore it scares the audience due to the build-up of fear and the unknown. It could be argued that the audience would want to see some kind of battle between good and evil, and in the case of 1408, this would be the supernatural vs humans. We are therefore keen to side with Enslin, the protagonist, since he is a representation of the audience itself. To some extent, the audience’s expectations of the film lie within Todorov’s narrative structure, therefore 1408 meet these.

In addition to expectations within the film story itself, the audience also expects certain technical qualities to be present within the film. Stereotypically, horror movies include a vast amount of low key lighting, deep, dark sounds and props which are symbolic to the situation, for example grave stones in a grave yard, skeletons and blood. The expectations within 1408 however differ from stereotypical horrors, since the horror is based around a seemingly ‘normal’ looking hotel room. This means that in the beginning of the horror, the audience are not alerted with all the typical

mechanisms, since the idea of story is that horror can be all around you, no matter how ‘normal’ something is. This matches it criteria as a psychological horror since it feeds of the fear of the unknown. As the paranormal events start occurring, however, there is more evidence of the build-up of low key lighting and sound, in order to add to the initial fear of the audience. By looking at this description of the horror 1408, it is difficult to say where its trademark year was within the history of horror genres, since unlike slasher films, they did not take off, or essentially have a climax.

Within the film, the audience is only really able to connect with the main character Mike Enslin, since he is who is on screen most often. Mike is clearly the protagonist since he is fighting the supernatural forces, which allows the audience to sympathise with him and encourage him to fight on. His character is seen to be quite arrogant at the start of the film, since he knows everything about the supernatural, therefore when he enters 1408, it could be argued that he deserved to be scared, in

order for him to finally believe. Although at the start he may not be favoured, as the film progressed, the audience learns more about his past and the death of his daughter, therefore when she dies in his arms, the audience is once again able to relate to Enslin, and adds a solemn feel to the film itself. The only other character the audience really gets to know is Olin, the manager of the hotel. His warning to Enslin is seemingly harsh, but fair, and although his exterior may be firm and fierce, it is clear that he is only trying to protect himself, the hotel and Enslin. He could be argued to therefore be a fellow protagonist against the room itself, known as the dispatcher in Propp’s theory.

1408 is clearly defined by its binary opposition, which in Strauss’ theory would be the known vs the unknown, which leads to good vs evil. This is successful since it allows the audience to relate with what they known as ‘normal’ and therefore see the paranormal events as abnormal and evil. The binary opposition allows the audience to relate with the protagonist, Enslin, more than the room, which makes the film successful.

In conclusion, the film embeds various theories in order to fit the typical horror expectation, though it takes its own twits on these, to scare the audience and defeat the unexpected. 1408 is a successful horror film overall, since its own feel and influence on the horror genre allows it to stand apart from other films such as Paranormal Activity, which also focus on the supernatural.

1408 Trailer