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1408 (Widescreen) | 
| Studio: Alliance (Universal)
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 13.99
Buy New: CDN$ 11.19
You Save: CDN$ 2.80 (20%)
New (3) Used (8) from CDN$ 4.50
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 15744
Format: Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
UPC: 065935809593
EAN: 0065935809593
ASIN: B000V3L7I0
Release Date: October 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Quality Horror Film Hacked Up by US Distributor April 4, 2008
Kasey Driscoll (Raynham, MA United States)
1408's theatrical cut is just below mediocre but the director's cut is a solid four stars out of five and one of the most effective horror films in the last five to ten years. So I went with three stars to balance things. It is amazing that such little changes can have such a dramatic effect on one viewer's perception. It's a shame that the Weinstein's decided to flub 1408 and give it a sappy and cliche Hollywood ending rather than the dark and gutsy horror ending that Mikael Hafstroem decided to create. This is the version that you folks in Europe and South American got to see in the theaters. The director's cut certainly seems to be the real cut, as 1408 seems to move along at its own pace within that version. It is simply a film about a man who checks into a hotel and we enjoy the suspense build up as the film's main protagonist soldiers forth. Hafstroem clearly knows what he's doing and he is influenced by a bevy of horror's most keenly detailed films, and that is why it is such a shame that his punches are pulled by Dimension Films for the US audience. His razors are dulled, his poison is given an antidote, and his biggest attack of all is completely de-clawed. Shame on the Weinsteins and shame on the US audience that always has a hankering for these sappy moments of comforting resolve. Other than that I have no strong feelings on the matter. br / br /The Weinsteins did do one good thing and that is to suggest the casting of the Dolphin Hotel's manager, Mr. Gerald Olin. He probably should've been played by some little old white guy with a fancy accent, but instead we get the absolutely iconic Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson is surely one of my favorite actors and it is simply because I enjoy watching him in anything he is in, and 1408 is no exception. Jackson is like Jack Nicholson, he can play anything but it seems that creeping perpetually underneath every character he plays is a little bit of Sam winking at the audience as if to say "it's me again". Olin is the formulaic old man who warns the kids not to go into that house or stay at that camp, and no one listens. The problem is Jackson, as an icon, is traditionally such a great intimadator, but here he is the intimidated and yet he carries the same confidence in 1408 that he carries anywhere else. He warns ghost skeptic and author Mike Enslin, played by the equally enjoyable John Cusack (if you don't believe me I recommend seeing Grace is Gone) that his quest to find physical or visual validation of the supernatural will end in room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel, but it will very likely mean the end of Enslin's life as well. 1408 is an extremely evil room. It would have to be if not even Jackson will go inside. br / br /The screenplay is great and it is based on a Stephen King short story I'm only familiar with by name. The music in this film is outstanding and works the suspense triggers with the pace perfectly. Enslin is a loner, who the audience will either like or dislike, but his character is very strong and Cusack plays him as if the audience could take him or leave him as a viable hero. The scenes with Cusack and Jackson together are very enjoyable to watch as the two are such dramatically different actors and their characters are so fundamentally strong and so fundamentally in opposition of each other within the context of this story. These scenes work to further heighten your curiosity. What the hell is going on inside room 1408 anyway!? Don't you worry, the Weinsteins will protect you.
Genuinely scary November 11, 2007
Matthew King
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
1408 is about a non-fictional (or fictional, depending on one's point of view) horror writer played by John Cusak who travels America in search of the spookiest places so he can experience them himself and write books about it. Morgan Freeman plays the hotel manager who advises him not to check into room 1408. This is a very scary, very creepy film. I've become desensitized to much of the horror stuff out there having seen so much of it, but this one definitely delivered the goods in the scares department. Unfortunately, it's too implausible and scattered to be completely enjoyable. It's never evident if the sightings are real or if they're all in Cusak's head and that becomes annoying after a while. Still worth a look.
 i think i've seen this movie before (3.5/5) October 18, 2007
falcon (canada)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
i liked this movie mildly.it is really bizarre,which is not br /surprising.it does come from the imagination of Stephen King.the thing br /is,i felt like i'd already seen this movie before.so it isn't br /completely original.it seems to take elements from other movies and br /meld them all into one.the other thing is that it's convoluted.after br /it's over,no explanation is given for what happened.for me,a movie br /doesn't necessarily have to resolve everything,but i would prefer if it br /presented some possibilities.this one just seemed unfinished.i didn't br /find the movie all that creepy.i did find it loud and chaotic though.and br /i have to admit i felt it was over acted at times.it's far from being a br /bad movie,but i don't think it lived up to the hype.but strangely br /enough,i still think it rates a 3.5/5
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