A man who specialises in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
The cynical and skeptical writer Mike Enslin writes books evaluating supernatural phenomena in hotels, graveyards and other haunted places, usually debunking the mystery. While writing his latest book, he travels from Los Angeles to New York to spend one night in the Dolphin Hotel's posessed room 1408, which is permanently unavailable for guests. The reluctant manager Mr. Gerald Olin objects to his request and offers an upgrade, expensive booze and finally relates the death of more than fifty guests over decades in the cursed room. However Mike threatens Mr. Olin, promising to sue the hotel, and is finally allowed to check into the room. Later in the night, he finds that guests of room 1408, once they have checked in, might never leave the room alive.Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
At one point in the movie, Mike wears a hat that says "Paranoia is total awareness." This is a nod to one of Stephen King's favorite quotes, "Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness." See more »
Goofs
After being in the heating ducts, when Mike falls out of the ceiling grate he is still soaking wet but when he stands up, immediately after, he is almost dry. See more »
-***Spoiler Alert - Alternate Ending*** The Director's Cut contains a more tragic ending. Mike Enslin sets fire to 1408 but is not rescued by the fire department. Instead, the last we see of him is when he's lying on his back in the burning room and we hear the words of his daughter "everybody dies". The camera zooms in on the numbers on the outside door, just as they melt from the heat. The next scene is at Mike's funeral where his coffin is lowered into the ground right next to his daughter's; just as the visions 1408 prophesied. Lily is there, being consoled by Mike's agent. As the procession ends, Lily walks to her car and is met by Gerald Olin who is carrying a box. Gerald introduces himself and gives his condolences. He says the box contains some of Mike's belongings still left in the room. He offers it to Lily while also trying to explain, with a sense of hope, that Mike's death of was not in vain and that because of his actions no one else will *ever be able to stay in room 1408. Lily, in too much grief to listen, cuts him off and refuses to accept the box. Gerald returns to his car and opens the box, which contains the nightgown that was sent through the fax machine as well and the burned tape recorder. Gerald plays it and hears the same dialog between Mike and his daughter heard at the end of the theatrical release. As he listens, he sees a young girl in his rear-view mirror waving in his direction. He turns around to look at her and catches a brief vision of Mike Enslin in his back seat, hideously burned. Gerald jumps but the vision quickly disappears. He looks back at the girl who has found her dad that was looking for her. Gerald catches his breath, starting his car and driving off. The final scene goes back to room 1408. We see a specter Mike Enslin staring out the window. The last shot is of him finishing his cigarette and walking towards the door just as he vanishes. See more »
We've Only Just Begun
Written by Roger Nichols (as Roger S. Nichols) and Paul Williams (as Paul H. Williams)
Performed by The Carpenters
Courtesy of A&M Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises See more »
User Reviews
Thrilling film dealing with a supernatural writer determined to check out a mysterious room
A man named Mike Enslin (John Cusack ,though Keanu Reeves was attached for playing lead role in the movie) writes books evaluating supernatural phenomena in hotels, and other haunted locations , as he specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences . Shortly thereafter Mike meets the manager of the hotel Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) and he checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel . Soon after settling in , he confronts genuine terror and stays locked-up . Later on , he gets to communicate his wife (Kate Walsh was originally cast in this film, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflict and she was replaced by Mary McCormack) by means of a computer .
This exciting film based on the terrifying story by Stephen King contains chills , thrills , suspense , and supernatural situations . The picture succeeds because the thriller , tension , suspense , as well as a superbly written script delving into the human psyche in such extreme situation and ours instinctive urges for survival . The screenplay manages to be intelligent , intriguing and thrilling , the good thing about this film is that the director made it on an acceptable budget only having to do a few sets , yet the movie works on many levels but is constantly reconfigured . Extraordinary performance from John Cusack in his second appearance in a Stephen King film adaptation , the first was Stand by Me. The picture bears certain relation with ¨The Shining¨ both movies were also shot at the same studio - Elstree, in London . The story this film was based on was almost never written ,Stephen King originally created the first few pages of '1408' for his nonfiction book, "On Writing," as an example of how to revise a first draft. The story, however, intrigued him, and he wound up not only finishing a complete draft, but adapting it for an audio-book compilation of short stories. Colorful and evocative cinematography by magnificent cameraman Benoît Delhomme . Thrilling and suspenseful musical score by Gabriel Yared who had formerly won an Academy Award for Anthony Minghella's The English patient . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Mikael Hafstrom , an expert on terror and sinister atmospheres as proved in ¨Drowning ghost¨, ¨Evil ¨, ¨The rite¨ , and of course ¨1408¨, he's now filming ¨The Tomb¨. Rating : Good , above average . The picture will appeal to Terror buffs and Joan Cusack fans .This is without a doubt a thought-provoking and mysterious film to be liked for terror fans , turning out to be one of the most original horror movies of the last years .
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A man named Mike Enslin (John Cusack ,though Keanu Reeves was attached for playing lead role in the movie) writes books evaluating supernatural phenomena in hotels, and other haunted locations , as he specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences . Shortly thereafter Mike meets the manager of the hotel Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) and he checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel . Soon after settling in , he confronts genuine terror and stays locked-up . Later on , he gets to communicate his wife (Kate Walsh was originally cast in this film, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflict and she was replaced by Mary McCormack) by means of a computer .
This exciting film based on the terrifying story by Stephen King contains chills , thrills , suspense , and supernatural situations . The picture succeeds because the thriller , tension , suspense , as well as a superbly written script delving into the human psyche in such extreme situation and ours instinctive urges for survival . The screenplay manages to be intelligent , intriguing and thrilling , the good thing about this film is that the director made it on an acceptable budget only having to do a few sets , yet the movie works on many levels but is constantly reconfigured . Extraordinary performance from John Cusack in his second appearance in a Stephen King film adaptation , the first was Stand by Me. The picture bears certain relation with ¨The Shining¨ both movies were also shot at the same studio - Elstree, in London . The story this film was based on was almost never written ,Stephen King originally created the first few pages of '1408' for his nonfiction book, "On Writing," as an example of how to revise a first draft. The story, however, intrigued him, and he wound up not only finishing a complete draft, but adapting it for an audio-book compilation of short stories. Colorful and evocative cinematography by magnificent cameraman Benoît Delhomme . Thrilling and suspenseful musical score by Gabriel Yared who had formerly won an Academy Award for Anthony Minghella's The English patient . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Mikael Hafstrom , an expert on terror and sinister atmospheres as proved in ¨Drowning ghost¨, ¨Evil ¨, ¨The rite¨ , and of course ¨1408¨, he's now filming ¨The Tomb¨. Rating : Good , above average . The picture will appeal to Terror buffs and Joan Cusack fans .This is without a doubt a thought-provoking and mysterious film to be liked for terror fans , turning out to be one of the most original horror movies of the last years .