Based on a Stephen King short story that bears the same name, “1408” is a psychological thriller set in a hotel in New York City. Liked by critics and respected by fans of old-school horror, “1408” was successful upon its release in 2007. Mikael Håfström, a Swedish writer and director known for “Evil” and “Kopps,” directed the film.
Plot Summary
Mike Enslin, a jaded author who investigates supernatural and paranormal events, receives a mysterious postcard after the release of his latest book. The card, which depicts the Dolphin Hotel in New York City, arrives anonymously and warns him not to enter room number 1408. Intrigued, Mike heads to the hotel and requests to stay in the forbidden room. The hotel’s manager, Gerald Olin, strongly warns against it. His curiosity adequately piqued, Mike insists that the hotel make the room available to him. The manager reluctantly agrees, and Mike settles in for a night in 1408.
At first, Mike fails to believe there is anything strange about the room. Even the clock radio, which turns itself on and plays “We’ve Only Just Begun” by the Carpenters, doesn’t faze him. However, when the time display suddenly changes to that of a 60-minute countdown, Mike soon realizes his fatal mistake.
As the time ticks down, Mike is confronted by strange hallucinations and terrifying events. He finds himself trapped inside the room and unable to escape. Despite his best efforts, Mike Enslin is forced to endure an emotional and torturous hour of horror. The weight of the experience threatens to destroy him like the other 56 hotel guests who died within the walls of room number 1408.
Film Production
The film is based on a short story written by Stephen King. It originally appeared in his 1999 audiobook entitle...
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...ost, expressed the same sentiment and called the film “truly scary.” Robert Wilonsky of the Village Voice praised John Cusack and stressed that “1408” would not have worked without his strong performance.
Commercial Success
Overall, “1408” was a successful film. It grossed over 20.6 million in its opening weekend in 2007. Its domestic lifetime gross was just under 72 million dollars. In the foreign market, “1408” made over 60 million. Its combined total lifetime gross was just under 132 million dollars.
The film did best in the North American market. Both the United States and Canada made up most of its total profit. In the foreign market, the film broke over 5 million in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Germany. Because of its high-grossing domestic and international sales, it is clear that “1408” exceeded expectations and pleased avid fans of classic horror.
Firstly, the script and plot were skilfully crafted creating superb film. Set in a Chicago were high school senior Ferris Bueller (Matthew Boderick) tricks his parents into thinking that he is unwell and unable to attend school because he wants to spend a day in downtown Chicago with his girlfriend Sloane (the beautiful Mia Sara)
However the distinction of having the most successful September debut still belongs to the 1998 movie titled “Rush Hour” with a modern value of $57 million.
... The Movie. Dir. Arne Johnson, Shane King. Perf. Carrie Brownstein, Beth Ditto. Ro*co Films. 2008. DVD.
...Jack found the hotel, and he found Mink, the man Babette was involved with, and the man who gave her this experimental drug for death disorder. Jack found a paranoid man, a man who will sit for hours in front of the TV with White Noise. Jack realized this person was out of his mind. (308-314)
There’s this really small highway town in New Mexico called Cimarron, and it’s small now but in the late 19th century it was a bustling crossroads for all sorts of people – gold speculators, ranchers, oilmen, and especially those vagrant characters, like Billy the Kid, seeking refuge from whatever lawman was on his tail. In Cimarron is this hotel, the Santa Fe Hotel, and they say that this place is the most haunted hotel still in operation, in the west. The lights flicker on and off, and people, visitors just say they encounter really weird things – like if you go in this one room, you might see a woman out of the corner of your eye, sitting on the windowsill and looking out for someone. And when you turn to face her, she disappears, but all of a sudden you smell a subtle waft of strawberry-scented perfume. Weird – yet you still not sure if this is true? Sounds sketchy, I know. Oh – I should say this hotel is haunted because 23 people have been shot to death in the hotel, either from a bar-fight or card-game or something. Well I went to stay at the hotel for a night, before I headed on to a nearby Boy Scout camp. I went with my troop, and we all got our own rooms. Guess what room I got – the strawbe...
The directing in this movie, however, was really poor. The props, murders, and camera direction left much to be desired. The director Dario Argento was highly decorated throughout the 1960s, but he really showed his bad side of directing. This movie had such high potential but he really destroyed that potential.
...with approximate takings of US$70-million. Second is ‘Butch Cassidy’ on US$58.4-million, and ‘Blazing Saddles’ comes in, surprisingly, at third place on US$49.2-milllion.
It made $212m in its second weekend in the US. In my opinion, it's better to see a film without hearing too much about it beforehand. With The Passion I was expecting to be bored for the first hour while seeing Christ preaching to his followers and healing the sick, but Gibson didn't tire us all with that, he filmed it in an interesting way which pleasantly surprised me. In fact, I was very impressed with the opening scenes. Instead of showing us Jesus' life from birth to death, Gibson set the film at the last two days of his life while having the odd flashback to Jesus' earlier days.
If you’re looking for a great scary movie to watch late at night with a bowl of popcorn, look no further than the 2007 hit, 1408. Based on a short story by Stephen King, published in his 2002 book Everything’s Eventual, this movie is a real home run. I am a big fan of Stephen King’s novels, and I have read the short story that this movie is based on, and let me tell you, this is probably one of the very few instances where I think that the movie is better than the original story. While the story was quite short and didn’t have many events, the movie adaptation completely revamped and expanded the original writing.
The film starts out with orchestral music, and shows James Dean's character, Jim, drunk on the ground of a sidewalk. The sound of a police siren is heard and used as a transition into the next scene that takes place, understandably, in a police station. While in the police station, Jim is yelling along with the sound of the siren, and humming loudly to give the impression that he is drunk. At one point in the scene he is brought into another room with an officer, and begins to punch a desk. The sound effects are loud, and the he pauses, and music begins again when he begins to hurt. Again, a siren is played at the transition to the next scene. However, for the most part, score music is played during all transitions.
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Moviemaking is a risky business, for it is not always profitable. Only one in ten films ever recovers its initial investment from theatrical exhibition. In fact, four out of ten movies never recoup the original investment. In 2000, the average studio film cost had a total cost of over $80 million per film. No other industry in the world risks that much capital to make, finance, produce ...