Sunday, March 09, 2008

Room 1408



Well here I am again, still plugging away through GOW (I've just uploaded a large map showing a honeycomb of locust tunnels from my old house, and am currently trying to get to a train, if you know the game...)
My blogging output has reached an all time low recently, as has my visiting and commenting on other blogs! All this should change soon as the competition to get on the computer at my house has recently been reduced due to the addition of a shiny new laptop courtesy of AOL.

Yes I know it is probably the WORST IP known to man, but a recent deal by the company, sees signing up for another two years rewarded by a Hewlett Packard laptop, an offer I couldn't resist!
So you know what my gaming habits have been lately, but what of my movie watching? Well apart from a Matrix weekend at my caravan in Wales (all three movies plus beer), I've also just seen the excellent 'Room 1408' starring Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack.
This excellent Stephen King yarn sees Cusack playing a paranormal hunting author, staying in and writing about 'haunted' places. He's cynical and disbelieving (desparate for proof of the afterlife since losing his only daughter...)

He then hears about a certain hotel in New York with the titular room, where several guests have met a grizzly fate. Still cynical he attempts to book in, only to be met with a refusal from the hotel manager, (Mr. Jackson...)
So he gets his lawyers on the case to force a booking. The manager begs him not to go in, bribing him with vintage liquor, fine cigars and an insight to just how horribly other unfortunate tenants have met their bitter ends...

But of course, Mr. Cusack ignores these warnings and that's where the 'fun' begins!

The film has a sinister and trippy edge to it, the viewer immediately put in the position of thinking of how they would cope with the trials and tribulations the protagonist experiences within the ghostly room.
The best horror films for me aren't those that overload the viewer with guts and gore, but those that give you pause for thought, weird you out and give you goosebumps!

I can't get enough Stephen King at the moment, I'm onto my third novel 'Needful Things', following on from 'Dreamcatcher' and 'Deadzone'. I love the way he conjures up small town America and slaps a twisted little spin on things.

So there you go, not much news really. I'm off to Cyprus for a week, two weeks today, to be best man for my friend, just me and Mrs. K, no gingers! I guess that's news. I'll try and squeeze in a few posts before I go!

7 comments:

Junlee said...

1408 was really good. I agree with you on the best horror films being those that don't overload everything.

While there were a lot of creepy moments, there was one really sad one where he sees his daughter...it was really sad to me, so I can only imagine how people who have lost a kid could have felt!

Oh and "Needful Things" is great! :D

The Sports Satirist said...

That music that was played every time the alarm went off was frightening. It gave me nightmares.

fatherkrishna said...

I agree Junlee that bit is sad, and the only bit that creeped my middle son out...

The music is "It's Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters Funnyman...

And yes they use it brilliantly in the film... It didn't give me nigtmares though. It made me want to go and buy it on CD! LOL!

NebachadnezzaR said...

Horror movies are not my favourites, but recently I've also seen one that gave me the shivers, even if it's not an horror movie in the traditional sense (more on that on my blog).

Oh, and psychological horror is the best. Why show you anything if it's more frighting just to think of what might be there?

gnome said...

Luckily I've got a copy of 1408 sitting safely next to me. Guess I'll have to wait for those precious 3 free hours to come along now...

The Sports Satirist said...

This film is not 3 hours long Gnome.

fatherkrishna said...

I heartily agree Nebacha... No director can create images as twisted as the one which infest my mind! LOL!

Enjoy it Gnome! (May I suggest that you watch it with a strong cup of tea and your favourite teddy bear?)

Maybe not funnyman, but there has to be time to make the tea and prepare the pillow to hide behind...