Checking into a hotel brings a cozy sense of familiarity—consistently familiar layouts, plush pillows, and the ease of room service. Yet, for those with vivid imaginations, settling into unfamiliar new spaces can feel disquieting. How many others have slept in this bed? Are any mirrors two-way? Did you search every nook for hidden cameras?
Two explored the more unsettling sides of a long hotel stay. Jack Torrance became the winter caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel in The Shining, only to descend into madness in a cold retelling of King’s novel that has solidified its place . With visionary Stanley Kubrick directing—drawing unease from the Overlook’s maze-like layout and grim ghosts—and a cultural legacy of viewers fixated on its ambiguity, it’s clear why King’s other haunted hotel adaptation was overshadowed.
With a now out, though, there’s no better moment to dive into 1408. The 2007 film, adapted from King’s 1999 short story, follows Mike Enslin (John Cusack)—a skeptic of the supernatural—who reserves the eponymous room at New York’s Dolphin Hotel. He’s informed no one has stayed inside for more than an hour, and 56 guests have died there over the years. He’s undeterred by its grim reputation, but during one endless hour, Mike encounters its evil first-hand.
How Was 1408 Received Upon Release?
This psychological horror film earned a solid $132 million against a $25 million budget, securing a second-place debut at the U.S. box office. Calling it the year’s — high praise, given that 2007 also gave us Paranormal Activity, The Orphanage, and REC — critic James Berardinelli named it “among the best King-inspired motion pictures to-date.” It was also warmly received by Mick LaSalle, who called it “a more than most horror films” and “one of the good Stephen King adaptations.”
Inevitable (and unfavourable) comparisons to The Shining, however, spawned less enthusiastic takes. Admitting he was “”, Wesley Morris said it lacked “the lunging horror and dramatic architecture to be remotely comparable.” Rob Salem got right to the point: “1408 is . Not even the TV-movie version.” Still, most reviews were positive, even if the movie isn’t as well-remembered as other King adaptations.
Why Is 1408 Important to See Now?
It’s simple to see why 1408 might instantly remind people of Kubrick’s masterwork — aside from the setting, both center prickly fathers with fraying family units who seek out a stay at a haunted hotel and are forewarned by managers citing an on-site history of violent murders. Both persist anyway, anticipating the experience to be conducive to their writing careers. Both are oblivious to the horrors awaiting them.
Similar to the Overlook Hotel’s unnavigable layout, room 1408’s design shifts, expands, and loops back on itself, increasing the feeling of disorientation. Instead of inducing claustrophobia, the space feels endless, and the initially sarcastic and unimpressed Mike now appears small, alone, and vulnerable. A moving camera captures his POV as his eyes dart around anxiously. Painful memories intrude, blurring the line between present reality and past regrets. 1408 builds its unsettling atmosphere gradually, with dread and confusion heightened through its sound design — the whistling wind is a constant presence, Mike suffers a sudden onset of tinnitus, and he eventually experiences auditory hallucinations.
The room is even calculated in its menace, turning on the sprinklers and shorting out the author’s laptop as he attempts to summon help. Unlike Jack’s rapid mental unravelling in The Shining — which King complained robbed audiences of “” — watching the rational Mike break and finally acknowledge the existence of a supernatural evil is what makes 1408 so harrowing.
The film is also terribly sad. Mike is revealed to be a talented writer who’s taken to churning out hack work after a shattering personal tragedy, and it becomes clear that he spends so much time seeking out ghosts so he doesn’t have to examine his own.
While the room tries to goad Mike into taking his own life, it also doubles as a portal into what his life could be like if he makes amends. In showing him all his lowest points, it makes him see how he could’ve acted differently. Four endings were shot for 1408, but the theatrical version got the “happy” conclusion, supplying a welcome catharsis absent from The Shining’s enduring, inescapable horror.
What New Features Does The 1408 Blu-ray Have?
includes the theatrical and director’s cuts, each on its own 4K UHD disc, and a Blu-ray containing both versions. Other features include:
- A featurette titled Don’t Enter 1408
- Audio commentary from director Mikael Håfström and writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
- The film’s three alternate endings
- Deleted scenes with optional audio commentary
- The Secrets of 1408: A behind-the-scenes featurette
- An interview with John Cusack
- Inside Room 1408: A making-of featurette focused on the room and special effects
- The original theatrical trailer for 1408