1408 on DVD (2007)

Diet Horror

SLCpunk , 24/09/2007

I was sure i'd like this film i love Cusack, i love Kings books and i love horror!

Trouble was that this is more of a fantasy film than a horror.

Dont get me wrong it started very well and some of the earlier scenes in the hotel room were very unsettling. Cusack was amazing as always but when the horror turned more to fantasy it was hard to take the film seriously.

It turned from a really creepy horror to a 'Tales of the Unexpected' episode. This is probably not a bad thing for some people but i paid my cash for a horror so was very disapointed.

In the end not scary not original, not Kings best, not Cusack's best and a bit too long. Wait for TV

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Very different kind of horror movie

David Mould from Lancashire England , 08/09/2007

I've never seen a film quite like 1408. Could be one of the best horror movies ever made. Let me tell you, 1408 is different. John Cusack plays cult writer Mike Enslin, a man who visits supposed haunted spots in order to debunk their reputations in the mildly-successful books he writes. When the room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York is brought to his attention, research tells him that the death tally in the room is in the double digits.It always feels like Stephen King--if you've ever read him, you know what I'm talking about. There are moments in this film of such mind-gnawing anxiety, such high-adrenaline terror that I had to tell myself, 'Calm down, it's just a movie.' Director Mikael Håfström never takes his audience's intelligence for granted. We're never beaten over the head with the same thing; the film is always headed somewhere new and exciting. The innovative ideas here are just terrific. John Cusack is brilliant as the cynical writer with a tragic past. He's never unbelievable, and he always nails the character down perfectly. There was never a time when I wasn't rooting for Mike Enslin in 1408. There was never a time when I did not want him to get out of the room. Samuel L. Jackson gives a chilling performance as a manager who is intent on not letting Mike enter room 1408. His determination to convince Mike not to enter the room only fuels Mike's determination to enter it. His warnings give us chill bumps but leave enough open so that we still don't know what we're in for. There are, of course, those who will be disappointed by 1408--because when all is said and done, they will find it's not a movie about a freaky hotel room, but rather the man who's trapped in that hotel room and what he finds there.

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This is classic King, a scary story a terrifying film

Emperor [Highly rated reviewer] , 18/09/2007

For me finding a REAL scary movie has been as elusive as the search for El Dorado, that is until the night of the 14th September when I made the fateful decision to go to the cinema and see 1408. What followed was by far one of the most convincing horror films I have seen for a while, the suspense was just right, and without spoiling it, releases for about ten minutes to lull you into a false sense of security so that even you yourself start to wonder what is real and what is not. I read some negative views before hand and being a fan of the original story I was myself a bit sceptical, after all the dire Pet Sematary films did shake my confidence that anyone could bring King to the screen as effectively as Kubrick did in the classic (and still scary) The Shining. It also didnt help my nerves that they were locking the cinema up and I was one of the last ones there! A definite must see if you love Kings true books (not that Dark Tower rubbish, what happened there Stephen?) and have been searching for that horror with the special chill up the spine. See it, if you dare.

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1 star, 5 star, 1 star, 5 star

JediSi , 06/09/2007

Mike Enslin, a cynical writer who has sunk from producing intimate novels to hack work about haunted inns, is lured to a Manhattan hotel where room 1408 is off limits to visitors, because of its long history of inhospitality. With only a knapsack, but tons of baggage from family misfortunes, Mike insists on a night in room 1408, despite the management's objections. Mike triumphs over the staff and settles into the chamber's banal decor, which he idly describes piece by piece into his pocket recorder for the intended article. The evening starts to look like a genuine snooze, when the room's unsettling turn-down service, a chorus from the Carpenters, and a radio that begins an ominous countdown unnerve both Mike and viewers. The first 20 minutes of 1408 are relatively boring as the plot starts to unfold at an extremely sluggish pace. It does pick up around the hour mark and gets quite exciting when all of a sudden, the film takes a very peculiar twist (at which the film could have ended abismally), and then another to save the film from a 1 star review. The film did salvage itself but the period of potential disappointment marred the ending a little. Now I've seen it once and know how it all turns out I whole heartedly believe that it does have the prospect of stretching for that fourth or maybe even fifth star. Samuel L. Jackson was perfect, and John Cusack had some memorable moments. Very good special effects and sound plot (even if a little slow in places). Definitely worth a watch.

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Refreshing

A customer from London , 23/08/2008

I really enjoyed this film - the story was totally novel and it's not a silly film were violence is freely dispatch for the sake of the horror aspect. This is a refreshing film with lots of jumpy bits and the ending cannot be guessed.

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Biggest Waste Of Time!

Willis from London , 29/08/2008

I was told by two separate people that this was a really scary film and was really looking forward to it...big mistake...absolute rubbish and not in the slightest big scary! I normally like John Cusack but in this film he really wound me up!

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