1408 (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Starring: John CusackStudio: Weinstein Company
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release: October 2nd 2007
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DVD Review
(Thriller) Based on a short story by Stephen King, a man who specializes in debunking the paranormal checks into the infamous room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel, only to discover? the terror is real.
User Reviews
Another solid king adaptation - Rating: 4/5
Steven King has long been a favorite author of mine and 1408 is just another basic example of his work. I quite liked this movie adaptation but I have yet to read the original story. While the movie is not particularly scary, it certainly has a creepiness all its own. There a few twists and turns including one very big and...shall I say, misleading, one in the latter half of the film. My main concern with this movie on the other hand, is that it includes a lot of back-story and other plot elements that don't seem to flesh out or get explained at all by the end of the film
1408's acting isn't really much to talk about but it is quite good nonetheless. John Cusack's character is a rather typical caricature of the cynical man who "believes in nothing but himself" and has a dry sarcastic comment for everything. The movie spends the largest amount of its time around Mike Enslin for obvious reasons. I haven't really seen him act in much else but he certainly does a good job in this movie especially since he was forced to act by himself and respond terrified to nothing. Samuel Jackson acts pretty much the same as he does in most of his movies but with significantly less yelling. The first exchange between the two characters in particular is a fine display of their acting talent.
All together, 1408 is entertaining enough that a second view can be just as enjoyable as the first even after all the twists have been exposed. Eventually I'd like to see more Steven King adaptations but for now this is one of my favorites (second to Secret Window). If you enjoy a creepy but fun film or are a big Steven King fan than I certainly recommend this film.
A unique horror movie.....for once. - Rating: 5/5
This movie scared the living hell out of me.
At last, a movie that doesn't rely on blatant gross outs to scare the audience.
Instead the movie uses suspense, freaky music, and atmosphere to scare the audience.
The acting is a little over the top at times but it's mostly good.
Samuel L. Jackson is awesome.......as always.
A truly amazing film for the horror genre, with many twists and turns; I didn't know what was going on till the very end, confusing but in a good way.
It keeps you interested.
Very good fx for a horror movie, it adds to the movie without making it unwatchable.
And the ending is just.........perfect.
The DVD includes the alternate ending, I'm glad they stuck with the ending they did, the alternate isn't very good.
One of the best American horror films to come out in many years.
Maybe Hollywood is finally learning from the wave of "J" horror films.
Scary movies DON'T have to be rated "R" to be scary.
They don't need a ton of nudity,foul language, or pointless gross out scenes to be good.
They just need a good story with some good actors.
1408 is a horror triumph.
Highly recommended.
One of the better Stephen King adaptations! - Rating: 5/5
The number of films adapted from a work by Stephen King are too numerous to list here; but, the number of excellent movies based on a story or novel by the horror maestro is a lot shorter--The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, Misery, The Dead Zone, Hearts of Atlantis, Delores Clairborn, The Mist, Cujo, and now, 1408. This movie, starring John Cusack, was one of the best films that I saw last year, and the Director's Cut with an alternate ending on the special two-disc DVD collection is just as good, if not better in my opinion.
For those of you not familiar with either the story or film, John Cusack plays Mike Enslin, a man who travels around the country and debunks the myth of haunted houses and rooms, publishing the results in his "occult travel guides." He simply doesn't believe in the afterlife or the supernatural, or anything for that matter, especially since the death of his young daughter from an illness. Everything changes, however, when he visits the Dolphin Hotel in New York City and stays in the infamous Room 1408. Though the manager of the hotel (played wonderfully by Samuel L. Jackson) warns him about the dangers of the room and the large number of people who have died there, Cusack's character thinks it's all a bunch of hot air, designed to attract people to the hotel and increase the business's revenue. Once Cusack gets settled into the room, things start happening to slowly change his mind and by the last quarter of the film, he's struggling just to stay alive. That's when he decides to fight back and to figure out a way to destroy the room and its evil.
For me, this was one of John Cusack's best roles. He carried ninety percent of the film on his shoulders and did so brilliantly. I believed in him and his character, and I desperately wanted Mike Enslin to make it out of the room alive. Samuel L. Jackson also did a great job as the smooth talking manager who knows the truth about Room 1408 and decides to let John Cusack do what he has to do. The special effects of the film are believable and extremely intense and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, spilling the popcorn on the floor. I also have to say that though I really enjoyed the theatrical version of the movie, I think the Director's Cut on the two-disc set was even better. It was longer with an additional seventeen minutes added to the last third of the film, and the alternate ending was more realistic. If you're a fan of Stephen King's writing, or an avid viewer of horror flicks, I would highly recommend this movie. It's one of the better films to be done from the horror writer's stories and definitely one of the best horror movies I've seen in the last few years.
An intelligent scare. - Rating: 5/5
I wanted to see this at the cinema but my friend insisted we see the latest horror-porn instead (Hostel or something, totally unmemorable as they all are). I finally saw this on DVD.
I've only been scared by three movies in my life, Poltergeist, The Ring and 1408 is the third. The movie doesn't rush itself into the scares, but when they start, they're good.
In fact the scariness extends almost to the end, and the end is slightly unexpected and satisfying at the same time. That being said the movie changes pace at one point, leaving us uncertain and off-guard, this is a real horror movie.
John Cusack plays his part well, he actually seems like one of the characters from the Stephen King books I have read. Some of the more subjective parts of his terror don't work, but that's not his fault.
Samuel L Jackson plays his part perfectly, I almost wish there was more screen time for him.
I didn't watch any of the special features as I don't want anything to disrupt the illusion of the movie (I will watch this again, and I will be scared again).
It's an evil f**king room. - Rating: 3/5
"1408" is based on an original Stephen King short abandons for the most part the use of overt gore and jumpy "boo" scenes in a smart move away from a trend we've been seeing in some modern horror movies, such as "The Hostel" or "Cabin Fever". Don't get me wrong though, gore in a horror movie (or otherwise) can have its place, if it's done well and inserted properly. But some films just don't need it. "1408" is such a film and relies on spooky tension building to get its point across.
The film, which received an 18 certificate in Britain and remarkably a PG-13 certificate in the US, stars the under-used John Cusack as Mike Enslin, a sardonic and cynical writer of paranormal debunking who checks into the Dolphin hotel in New York to embark on his latest project. The 1408 of the title is a room that has seen a large number of deaths, ranging from window jumpers to drowning in soup and the manager of the hotel, Gerald Olin (Samuel L Jackson), is reluctant to let Enslin stay in it. Nobody has lasted more than an hour in room 1408, Olin informs Enslin and hands him a thick dossier on the people who have been driven insane to the point of their demise in the room.
Enslin won't be deterred however and insists on staying the night, intent on proving that there is nothing supernatural about the room at all. After entering the room, he remains unconvinced for the better part of the first half of the movie, but the increasing level of strange goings-on help him to come to his senses. It seems Mike Ensln has finally found proof of the existence of the paranormal he is so dismissive of in his everyday life.
The viewer is helped to believe this too, by the top marks effort of John Cusack, who for a great many scenes is completely alone. There is only him and the audience dealing with the ghostly occurrences playing out on the screen and Cusack does well to covey what Enslin is thinking and feeling, by not only making use of his great ability to deliver a timely wisecrack or deadpan one liner, but also convincingly performing his characters ever growing fear.
A quietly unsettling Samuel L Jackson offers a sterling support performance in what I believe to be one of his better onscreen efforts and he does a lot to help build the foundations of the suspense that drives the first part of the film.
Fine support also comes from Mary McCormack and Jasmine Jessica Anthony, who play Enslin's estranged wife and dead daughter, in the movie's sub-plot, which is one of the stronger elements of the production.
The weaker sides to 1408, however, become apparent in the second half of the movie as the room's subtle attempts to drive Enslin nuts are replaced by the over the top. The "turn down service" toilet roll creepiness and spine tingling repetition of "We've Only Just Begun" on a clock radio give way to severe climate change and some on-location hallucinations that just aren't as effective as the events that actually take place within the confines of the hotel room. It's also clear that the producers were unsure how to finish the film, which has led to a number of alternative endings. The "Director's cut" DVD has replaced the ending in theatre's with the one that Mikael Håfström originally wanted and there is also another ending involving Enslins publisher, Sam Farrell (Tony Shalhoub).
Inevitably, there have been unfavourable comparisons to Stephen King's other hotel horror, "The Shining", but "1408" is a different creature altogether. Whereas Kubrick's "The Shining" kept me interested for its full running time, Håfström's effort unfortunately trailed off after the 45 minute mark. This is a shame because the first half setup indicated a very enjoyable overall movie. But "1408" just runs out of steam and instead of driving smoothly to it's ending, it tumbles toward it, leaving the viewer unsure whether it was an wholly successful experience.
