31 Days of Draughts and Darkness: Volume III
"1408" (2007)
Tonight's feature is a hugely underrated gem that's
practically been forgotten in the annals of horror. It's a rare that a scary
movie manages to be genuinely frightening while also pretty damn
family-friendly. And I mean that in quite the complementary way. You'd be
hard-pressed to think of a scarefest appropriate for your youngsters without
delving into animation.
And yet, "1408" manages to craft a largely
bloodless, yet still spooky haunted house story.
The Plot:
Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is an author who
specializes in the paranormal, but he's not exactly a fan of the subject
matter. Still in mourning over the death of his daughter, Mike has
devoted his writing to exploring the world of the ghostly. He's stayed
overnight at many supposedly haunted locations, ranging from old mansions to
closed hospitals. And yet, for all his exploration into the unknown, he's never
once run into anything close to supernatural.
After so many failed attempts,
much of his writing is now bitter and skeptical. He's no longer interested in
discovering the supernatural, he's practically daring it to come looking for
him and prove its own existence.
Mike's latest venture is to New York's Dolphin Hotel, an old
establishment with a mostly-fancy reputation. Mostly. For while much of the
Dolphin is luxurious, one room in the hotel has a rather gruesome trail of
history behind it. The now-closed Room 1408 has had dozens of visitors enter but never leave. Most were found dead the following morning. The few who managed
to escape were disfigured from the ordeal. But for all these horrific outcomes,
no one actually knows what happens to a guest when they check into the room.
They're either too crazy (or too dead) to tell the tale.
This, naturally, is
too juicy a story for Mike to ignore. Despite the objections of hotel manager
Gerald Odin (played with foreboding menace by Sam Jackson), Mike books 1408 and
settles down for what he expects to be a boring night. The night he gets will
be the worst of his life.
The Flavor:
I have to applaud
"1408" for its careful sprinkling of dark material into select bits of
the film. Some of the deaths of past occupants are quite nasty, but rather than
see them, we're informed by Sam Jackson via dire warnings. The experience comes
off like listening to an old ghost story right before walking into a haunted
house. With only your imagination, you're effectively wound up and primed for
the real terror that lies ahead. This anxious buildup is what helps "1408" be so scary without blood and guts.
It's also what makes the feature a
great family horror film. Much of what happens to Mike in 1408 is frightening,
but never more than in a classic haunted-house sort of way. The film balances
both grim hauntings and trippy hallucinations in a way that's disorienting, but
not overly disturbing. The myriad of GOTCHA!
moments leave you screaming, then laughing shortly after. That's a tough tonal
tightrope to walk, but "1408" does a great job of it.
John Cusack also imbues his
character with a nice balance of jadedness and sympathy. We want to see him
become a believer, to lose that bitter skepticism. But at
the same time, we're fully aware he's in pain over his daughter's loss, and we
really, really hope he's able to survive the ordeal ahead of him. When your
hero is relatable to and likable, it makes the horror all-the-more effective. We grow to care about their safety. The threats become more dire, the
stakes raised.
Don't let the PG-13 rating and my
talk of "family-friendly" discourage you if you're a hardcore horror
fan. While "1408" won't assault you with gore and much of its scares
are of the jump variety, the film doesn't go for cheap shock value. The tension
and atmosphere are real, and even the jump scares are inventive. For a film that
primarily takes place in a single hotel room, there's quite a lot of creativity
on display. Mike's attempts at escape cover all possible angles, from
ventilation ducts to windows, but each is a dead end. The helplessness he feels
throughout the film is effectively carried over to the audience.
Best Paired With:
As I've mentioned, provided your
kids aren't too young (let's say over 10), "1408" makes for spooky
family viewing. It is a straight-up horror movie, so make sure everyone goes in
knowing this before you start. Though not overly violent, some of the ghosts
are pretty damn creepy and the scares are sudden.
I'd also recommend this film for those who typically avoid
horror, as "1408" is a fun ride that'll leave you scared but having
fun. There's nothing hardcore or traumatic to worry about, so feel free to sit
back and enjoy the ride. What you'll get
is a vastly underrated feature that perfectly captures the Halloween season.
Brew:
A classic-sort of haunted house movie, tonight's feature calls for a classic sort of pumpkin ale.
Name:
Country Pumpkin
Brewery:
Ithaca Beer Co.
Where
Brewed: Ithaca, NY
ABV:
6.3%
Style:
Pumpkin Ale
Color: Country
Pumpkin gives off the sort of deeply golden orange that reminds me of the
vegetable it's named for. There's just a the slightest bit of amber as you look
towards the center of the glass. It's like an array of Fall colors combined.
Aroma: The "Fall Trio" (cinnamon, nutmeg, and
ginger) are all present and accounted for, but thankfully subtle enough to
allow for the other scents to make their statement. The slightly-tart,
vegetable-like twinge of pumpkin, which can all too easily get overwhelmed by spice-factor, here is just as pronounced, giving the beer a balanced aroma.
The bit of sweet scent is also tempered by just a dash of hoppiness in the
background.
Taste: Country Pumpkin has far more malt presence than it's
scent profile gives it credit for. Foremost on the palate is a mixture of nutty
malts and the Fall Trio of spices. The pumpkin flavor is there, but now more of
a background note than upfront flavor. As the beer settles over the tongue, the
spice presence begins to warm up, making the taste of cinnamon and nutmeg more
pronounced. Nicely, the sweetness isn't so high as to make the combo of malt
and spice overpowering as you drink.
Aftertaste: Towards the very, very end of each sip, you'll
start to pick up a hint of hop at the back of your mouth. It's subtle, showing
up as a counterpart to the spices and giving the cinnamon presence a bit of
kick. The effect reduces the level of sweetness while amplifying the spices.
After swallowing, the hop-factor is quick to fade away,
having done its job of quickly resetting the palate. Hints of malt remain on
the tongue though, along with some of the Fall Trio, so don't expect the beer's
primary flavors to recede completely in between sips.
Body: Heavier than I expected, Country Pumpkin has a fine
carbonation level and creamy feel. It's not so heavy that downing a pint takes
a while, but is heftier than most other pumpkin beers I've tried. Some of the mild
mouth-coating quality may be due to a slightly-higher ABV, as 6.3% is stronger than the usual pumpkin ale, which often comes in around 5%.
Pair: Savory white meats like pork loin and the dark meat of
chicken would benefit from the nutty malt and Fall Trio spice array.
Unsurprisingly for a pumpkin ale, any sort of Fall seasonal veggie like
butternut squash or (hint, hint) roasted pumpkin would also go well with these
flavors.
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