1408 (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

A film you can see again and again and always learn something new about the after world. The music is brilliant and John Cusack is a winner.

I came to this movie prepared to enjoy it.
I read the story about a year ago, in the book "Everthing's Eventual", and ... it scared me stiff. Now I'm 40, and usually don't scare that easily, but this story was just terrifying ! Easily the "best" in the book. I've just finished watching the movie (15 minutes ago), and ... well, while it's OK, it just doesn't scare me. Ok, there are a good number of jump-out-of-your-seat moments, the same sort you get in a lot of scary and horror movies - looking in the mirror to find somebody behind you trying to bludgeon you, etc. - but that's about all.
While the camera work is good, the mood-setting is too contrived (creaking doors, chilling music to announce a scary or dangerous moment ahead, ...) It's a basic exercise in scary-movie-making, with the usual ingredients : the room changing, blood seeping from the walls, the light changing, temperatures dropping and rising, ... And while John Cusack's a good enough actor, I didn't find anything in there for him to sink his teeth into.
Now the story worked (for me) because, as it is written, the reader needs to get him/herself in the scene, has to imagine for her/himself what is actually happening, to see the action in their mind's eye, while reading it on paper. That takes a seriously good author. And Stephen King succeeded very well in that, here. That, coupled to the fact that the story itself is a short story, meaning it's ... short, maybe 10-20 pages, I don't exactly remember. The movie tries to extend this short story into more than 1 1/2 hours, so having to add a number of events, which, to me, only prolongs, draws out the story itself; and not in a sustained way. It didn't keep me riveted, wanting to keep watching every minute, expecting/fearing the next moment, as did the written story.
So in conclusion : OK, a few good scary moments, but a classic (not Classic, if you know what I mean) horror movie.
Buy the book.

The editor said: "As creepfests go, 1408 is right up there with The Shining" DID he even watch this crapfest!?!?!? If he did he obviously didn't see Kubrick's The Shining, this movie has nothing on the Shining (which is one of the creepiest and greatest Horror films of all time). 1408 keeps trying to build up to what ends up to be nothing, trys to build tension which leads to absolutly nothing. Weak lame scares, lame effects, and over all waste of time movie, no scary at all. To try and put this lame excuse of a film in the same class as the Shining is against all the laws of good film making.

1408 - sucks, waste of time and money.
The Shining - amazing, rent it instead of 1408.

Therein lies the difference.

I liked this movie. While it may not be up to the standards of The Shining, this movie does very well what it intends to do. It tries to convey a sense of hopelessness, a sense of regret, and a sense of being trapped in Enslin's (our main character) darkest hour.

Cusack is very convincing as a washed up writer--Mike Enslin-- who, despite being an author of books about haunted places, does not really believe in ghosts. His mental descent from apathy and cynicism to a little bit of insanity and despair is very believable.

Room 1408 is perhaps the real star of the movie, with its ruthless pursuit of our main character. As Cusack is trapped in the room, he seemingly finds a way out only to be twarted by this very very evil but clever room. Many of the tricks the room pulls out of its sleeve are new, while some of them are very classic horror movie tricks. The movie has a few cheap "jumpy" scares, but these are not the focus of the movie. If you really watch the movie for what it is, rather than just a series of unlucky/frightful moments for Enslin, you can take more from it. I think Room 1408 is one of the most evil entities in horror film history. The depths to which the room tries to get to Enslin's psyche are just...ruthless. The psychological warfare on the Room's part is probably really what makes the movie different. For instance *****SPOILER***** I was convinced there was more to this movie by the ending especially--the part with Mike's tape recorder. What was left on the tape recorder was probably the worst moment in his life, left to be played over and over again. Torture.

I would probably have given this film a 4.5/5 if I could rather than a 5, but I give Stephen King the benefit of the doubt regarding some of the character development issues I feel he had with Enslin and his family. I'm sure you get a more complete sense of their situation in the actual short story.

Like I said, I like this movie. It's clever, unique, and much better than your average horror film. It's NOT a slasher. If someone gives this movie a 1, they either have not seen the movie OR they have not seen any other movies in the horror genre for the last 10 years OR they like the slasher flicks. If you're going for shock value in a horror movie--you will be disappointed in this movie. This is more of a thinking person's horror film; if you DON'T look past the surface of this film--I could see how it could be "nothing special." This movie is well beyond all other modern horror flicks, but it does pale in comparison to classics like The Shining, Psycho, you get the idea. I think this movie is worth a watch for the general horror fan--and an absolute must see for Stephen King horror fans.

I'm happy to see a well made "scary" movie for once. Most fall very short of this due to script problems, casting, and overall interest in what it takes to create something disturbing. In other words, "EFFORT"! This fills the void without any apologies. Loved it!