1408 (film)

Plot

Mike Enslin, a skeptical writer who publishes books about haunted locations he personally dismisses as fake, is handed a postcard while signing copies in Hermosa Beach. The card, sent anonymously, shows the Dolphin Hotel in New York City and warns, "Don't enter 1408." Taking it as a dare, he flies to the hotel and insists on booking that room. The manager, Gerald Olin, tries hard to talk him out of it, explaining that no one has lasted more than an hour inside 1408 in 95 years, with 56 deaths on record. Mike threatens legal action, so the hotel reluctantly agrees.

Once inside, Mike notes the room's bland look on his tape recorder, calling it the "banality of evil." Then the clock radio starts playing "We've Only Just Begun" and its display becomes a countdown from 60:00. He sees ghosts of earlier victims and flashbacks of his dead daughter Katie and dying father. He cannot leave.

He emails his estranged wife Lily for help, but the sprinklers short-circuit his laptop. A doppelgänger of Mike appears on a video call, urging Lily to come. The room shakes violently, Mike crashes into a stormy ship painting, and water floods in. He relives a surfing accident and wakes in a hospital, reconciling with Lily.

Believing it was a nightmare, he mails a manuscript to his publisher. But he spots Dolphin staff disguised as construction workers, who tear down walls to reveal he is still trapped. Katie's ghost appears, and when the countdown ends, the room resets and the clock returns to 60:00.

Production

Dimension Films optioned the rights to Stephen King's 1999 short story "1408" in November 2003 and 2004. Matt Greenberg was hired to adapt the screenplay, and in October 2005 Mikael Håfström was brought on to direct, with Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski rewriting. John Cusack was cast in March 2006, followed by Samuel L. Jackson in April. Kate Walsh was cast as the protagonist's ex-wife in July but exited in August due to scheduling conflicts with Grey's Anatomy, and was replaced by Mary McCormack. Exterior shots of The Dolphin used the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, while lobby scenes were filmed at the Reform Club in London.

Release

In addition to the theatrical ending, three alternative endings were shot. In 2007, director Mikael Håfström said the ending was reshot because test audiences found the original a "downer." However, in a 2024 interview, Håfström stated the theatrical ending was shot first and the alternate endings were later experiments, adding that he considers the theatrical ending "more rewarding" and "stronger, and much more emotional." In one alternate ending, Mike dies in the fire; at his funeral, Olin gives Lily a box of Mike's possessions, including the tape recorder, and says the room was destroyed.

Olin later hears Katie's voice on the tape, sees a little girl in a dress, then Mike's burnt corpse in the backseat, and finally the girl holding hands with her father. He drives off, and the final scene shows an apparition of Mike in the gutted room before he disappears. In another, Mike dies in the fire; Lily and Sam sort through his effects, and Sam discovers Mike's manuscript from the room; as he reads, audio from Mike's experiences plays, and Sam's office doors slam shut with Mike's father's voice saying "As you are, I was.

As I am, you will be." A third alternative is similar to the theatrical ending but Lily does not notice Katie's voice on the tape, and Mike reacts happily upon hearing it.

Reception

1408 opened in second place at the box office, grossing $20.6 million in its opening weekend from 2,678 theaters. With a production budget of $25 million, the film grossed $132 million worldwide, including $71.9 million from Canada and the United States. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 80% rating based on 176 reviews, with the critical consensus: "Relying on psychological tension rather than overt violence and gore, 1408 is a genuinely creepy thriller with a strong lead performance by John Cusack."

Metacritic gives a score of 64 out of 100 from 27 reviews, and CinemaScore audiences gave it a "B−" grade. James Berardinelli awarded three out of four, calling it "the best horror film of the year" and praising Cusack's performance. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle described it as "one of the good Stephen King adaptations" and "more genuinely scary movie than most horror films." Some critics found it underwhelming: Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe compared it unfavorably to The Shining, writing that it "conjures a wonderful anticipatory mood of dread in the first 30 minutes, then blows it to stylish smithereens."

Rob Salem of the Toronto Star gave two out of four, calling it a predictable "hit and miss" production and stating, "Even as haunted hotel King movies go, 1408 is certainly no Shining. Not even the TV-movie version."