1408 (2007)

A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.

Director:

Mikael Håfström

Writers:

Matt Greenberg (screenplay), Scott Alexander (screenplay)

Stars:

John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack

4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	Mike Enslin
Paul Birchard	...	Mr. Innkeeper
Margot Leicester	...	Mrs. Innkeeper
Walter Lewis	...	Book Store Cashier
Eric Meyers	...	Man #1 at Book Signing
David Nicholson	...	Man #2 at Book Signing
Holly Hayes	...	Lady at Book Signing
Alexandra Silber	...	Young Woman at Book Signing
Johann Urb	...	Surfer Dude
Andrew Lee Potts	...	Mailbox Guy
Tony Shalhoub	...	Sam Farrell
Emily Harvey	...	Secretary
Bill Armstrong	...	Clay the Lawyer (as William Armstrong)
Kim Thomson	...	Desk Clerk
Drew Powell	...	Assistant Hotel Manager

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

paranormal phenomena | death of daughter | hotel | writer | author | 

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Taglines:

Enjoy your stay.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material including disturbing sequences of violence and terror, frightening images and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Taiwan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Soba 1408

Filming Locations:

The Reform Club, Pall Mall, St. James's, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,617,667, 24 June 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$71,985,628

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$131,998,242, 8 February 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films,The Weinstein Company,Di Bonaventura Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 114 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In its standard edition, the DVD runtime is exactly 104 minutes and 8 seconds, referring directly to the movie's title. This also makes the DVD stop playing at precisely 1:44:08, again referring to the title.

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Goofs

After Enslin sets fire to the room and the fire's been burning a while, he throws a chair through the window. Immediately, the fire explodes. Fire does this when it has consumed the oxygen in the room and is suddenly fed fresh air (which is why firefighters have to be careful when opening doors or windows in burning buildings). However, since the oxygen in the air was consumed, Enslin should be suffocating, not walking or throwing furniture around.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mike Enslin: Hi. Mike Enslin. Checking in.

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Alternate Versions

The theatrical version is run 104 minutes and the director's cut version is run 112 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Great Film

First of all a few months ago, I wrote a review for Dead Silence. I don't remember a lot of what I said for that movie, but I do know that in a world of Saw, Hostel, and other movies that try to be horror but can't make the grade, I felt that Dead Silence was a breath of fresh air.

After watching 1408 I know that the REAL breath of fresh air is the amazing almost 1 man performance of John Cusack, as well as the great support work by Samuel L. Jackson and Mary McCormack.

This is a movie that not only made me jump at certain times like Dead Silence did, but it also made me legitimately scream out in fear of a particular scene involving John Cusack on a ledge on the 14th story of a building. I guess my fear of heights also had something to do with it.

This is a movie for guys to take women that they like to, so that when the real scary parts do kick in, the classic jump-into-your-lap-in-terror will happen.

Don't be fooled by the pansy PG-13 rating. It is very scary and even though I didn't read the Steven King book of the same name, I feel that this totally captures King's own personal sense of fear. I definitely give this 10 out of 10 because this is without a doubt one of the most frightening (and I mean that in a good way, not in a crappy slit your wrists because Showgirls sucks kind of way) movies to come out in a very long time.

So go and see it, enjoy it,and let's hope that maybe Hollywood can give us REAL horror movies instead of the cheap, lame wannabes that have disgraced our movie screens before this film came out.