larry smith – Google

Oh Oracle, Oracle, how hast thee failed me? Let me count the ways: a repulsive racist theme is substituted for the screenwriter’s inability to develop a relatable, genuine one of honestly horrific evil; the ending is essentially predictable from halfway through the film; it is overloaded with trite, Hollywood gimmicks and special effects in a failed attempt to instill a sense of fear and foreboding in the audience; and finally, like comedy, horror is a genre where it is far easier to fail than succeed. As with comedy, stupid is easy to create—genuine humor is not. This one embraces stupid, rather than putting in the hard, creative work required to present the viewer with genuine horror. Don’t waste your time.

While the film offers a few noteworthy bits of humor, and the theme of childhood friends reuniting to fight an existential menace first encountered in their adolescent days appeals to our fond sense of long gone times when the camaraderie of peers meant everything to us, it is simply too contrived and full of gimmicks and computer generated special effects to achieve its ostensible purpose. A well-made horror film does not and cannot rely on those types of crutches and still hope to accomplish its raison d’etre, ie., to scare the living bejesus out of its viewers. While the film starts off well enough, it becomes all too apparent about half way through that it will fall far short of the mark, with the plot and action devolving into something more appropriately titled “It goe to Cedar Point.” Unless of course you’re into flicks attempting to fit into both the comedy and horror genre at the same time, this is one to pass on. One wonders why Jessica Chastain ever signed on to make this one.

This extremely well done horror movie, beneath its surface, hides, in plain site (if you probe beneath its superficial, haunting evil), something far more fatal, more foreboding, more eternal: Mike Enslin died while surfing in California—he did not regain consciousness, spitting and coughing water out of his lungs on the beach. Pay very close attention to virtually every detail that comes thereafter—to every word spoken of God, of Hell… What the film seeks to capture, quite subtly, is Mr. Enslin’s near-hell experience, as his soul leaves life behind, and as he himself confessed, his disbelief in almighty God along with it. Entering 1408, Enslin descends into hell itself, as he himself would describe and create it. A hell based on a prior life of denial; denial of God, denial of the moral adversary of God; of the evil cast out of heaven in ancient times, come down to reign upon the earth. There is a majestic, albeit sinister aura about this film, so examined, which pokes at, grasps for, and perhaps captures the depth of a very real hell, devoid of rest, of pleasure, of calm, and ultimately God Himself. God is all around us, reaching out for us, through our lives. But perhaps when we stop seeking His embrace, when we deny His very existence, He departs. This one has a message—don’t lose track of it in its superficial features.

“Forgiveness is between them and God. My job is to arrange the meeting.” So says Denzel’s character, John Creasy, the ultimate artist of death. As others have commented herein, kidnappings are/were a most unfortunate way of life in Latin America. This is a most captivating tale of Creasy, a former CIA operative, accustomed throughout his past to dealing out death, coming face to face with that most evil scenario. “Do you think God will forgive us,” he asks of his former companion, played by Christopher Walken, in such past fatal undertakings for the CIA. And that is what our favorite anti- hero is desperately seeking in this most explosive of action films, a motion picture that creates a soul for its self out of whole cloth. Redemption. And it becomes his for the taking, as he begins to embrace it, coming within a mere breath of claiming it for his own, just as it is torn so wickedly from his grasp by those who would use an innocent child to perpetrate just such evil. Vengeance. It appears that is all that is left, and Creasy exerts it with the most expert deadly force. Until…until once more redemption appears on his horizon…once more his to claim, to own. But is it too late? What is the price? Is it too high? This is NOT your typical action thriller. Instead, it has indeed achieved a soul of its own, or at least heavily impacts our own, as it carries us in a growing tide of emotion to its ultimate conclusion. See it!

Van Johnson and Vera Miles couldn’t have been better at heading up the cast, and the supporting actors don’t miss a beat either. While some viewers might find portions of the plot to be stretched a bit thin, most will be readily drawn in to it, and unlikely to allow their attention to wander as this thriller unfolds. Filming in London is also quite a plus, with the cinematography satisfying (for the moment, at least) any urge to travel to that most classic of destinations. Full disclosure: I found this one to be immensely enjoyable even on the second viewing.

I can’t even imagine why the reviewers short-changed this one. Perhaps I’ve seen a film which was easier to give five stars to, but there certainly haven’t been many. Viggo Mortensen and Omar Sharif are absolutely perfect in their relative roles, as is the entire cast, and the drama and sense of adventure never wane. This film could not have been better in its concept or execution, and is sheer joy to watch. Bravo!