In director Mikael Hafstrom’s “1408,” John Cusack plays Mike Enslin, an author of supernatural books investigating strange goings-on in the room of a famed New York hotel. Terry recently chatted with Cusack, an Evanston native, about the film, which is based on a short story by Stephen King.
There are horror movies and then there are psychological thrillers. I think “1408” fits somewhere in between.
Cusack: I thought this movie had more in common with [Alfred] Hitchcock or Rod Serling than it did with [“Hostel’s”] Eli Roth. It’s more of a psychological mind-bender. It definitely has your “jump” scares, and your girlfriend is definitely going to be grabbing on to your arm. But it’s also going to get under your skin. It has a little bit more going on than your typical slasher film. I’m not interested in those types of films.
What type of so-called “horror films” turn you on?
Cusack: I grew up with “The Shining,” and I thought “28 Days Later” was a cool film. I think there are a lot of paranormal-supernatural thrillers that are great. But I’m not into just the torture films. This is full-fledged torture for the character, but it’s not one of those, “Let’s do a 10-minute scene about how he cuts someone’s finger off.” [Laughs] I’m not interested in that.
You mentioned “The Shining” which, of course, is based on another Stephen King story. What does his name bring to the table when you’re talking about horror films or psychological thrillers?
Cusack: There’s something about people who make it look so easy that they don’t sometimes get the credit they deserve. You just expect Stephen King to deliver these terrifying stories with fantastic plots and terrific characters, then to take you on a real ride. You get so used to him producing like that. It’s like a baseball player who hits .330 and he does it every year and fans are like, “What have you done for me lately?” He’s just been so good for so long. I also think he’s a very underrated character writer. He writes pretty terrific characters and they come fully formed on the page. They have complex pasts and those pasts always seem to come into conflict with the narrative in a really interesting way. I’ve always been into Stephen King.
Stephen King also has a knack for making everyday life scary. A scary movie that takes place in a hotel room? Everybody can relate to that.
Cusack: That’s true. I also think that everybody has been in a room that has a certain kind of past to it that you can feel. You know, like when you go into a bar or you go into a certain room and the energy is really dark. You just know you’ve really got to get out of there. Places and rooms and houses definitely have a spirit to them, a hangover of what may have happened in them. I’ve definitely gone into some rooms where it just doesn’t feel right. You just get this bad vibe, and it feels pretty real. It can really freak people out. That’s why I think people will be able to relate to this movie.
How long have you been at this now?
Cusack: I started when I was 16. [Laughs] I’m 40, so whatever that is.
So at 40, has it become more difficult for you to find challenging roles with complex characters?
Cusack: It comes in spurts. This is a pretty challenging one. But it’s all cyclical. You get into a hit movie or get into a hot movie and all of a sudden, everybody wants you for the very best stuff. If you haven’t been in a hit movie for a while, you still get stuff but it’s slower until you get lucky again. It’s very cyclical.
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