1408 movie review the guardian

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(105 mins, 15) Directed by Mikael Hafstrom; starring John Cusack , Samuel L Jackson, Mary McCormack

Stephen King has obviously got a thing about hotels (frightening places) and writers (troubled people) and as in The Shining, they're conjoined in 1408, Swedish film-maker Mikael Hafstrom's stylish horror movie based on a King story. The protagonist, Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a one-time serious writer, turned cynical and opportunistic after the death of his young daughter from leukaemia, who spends his time writing debunking pieces on haunted houses and hotels.

The film amusingly builds up to him coming to stay in the dread room 1408 of the 96-year-old Dolphin Hotel on New York's Lexington Avenue. Despite the entreaties of the suave manager (Samuel L Jackson), arrogant Mike books in for the night and truly scary things happen. Has he been set up? Is he mad? Is it all a dream? Though not especially original, this is frightening and disturbing film and the effects take a while to wear off.

• Horror films
• John Cusack

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Relying on psychological tension rather than overt violence and gore, 1408 is a genuinely creepy thriller with a strong lead performance by John Cusack.

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1408 (Movie Review)

Eric n's rating: ★ ★ ★ ½ director: mikael hafstrom | release date: 2007.

"1408" is a summer fear flick that certainly has the pedigree worthy of a horror classic. It has everything going for it. You've got a story by the legendary Stephen King, some great lead actors like John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, and some solid direction from Swedish director Mikael Håfström. Does this strange brew mix together to form a summer blockbuster? Read on and find out.

Cusack plays Mike Enslin, a semi-alcoholic (and fully depressed) writer whose books cover haunted hotels across the United States. As the film starts he pulls in to one such hotel, and we watch him as he tries (in vain) to find something remotely spooky about the place. As he says, ghost stories make for convenient advertising when the interstate moves away. As we learn almost from the start, Eslin is a dejected shell of a man. He's an intelligent and gifted writer who seems to have no faith in what he is actually writing about. He believes in nothing, especially God, and this is what causes him to take his next assignment so lightly... stay a night in room 1408 in the Dauphin hotel in New York City.

He learns of the hotel while sifting through a stack of mail, mostly bills and gaudy brochures from mom and pop hotels across the country sent to him in an attempt to lure him there for some free publicity. Among the stack he finds a lone postcard with an ominous note scrawled on the back... "don't stay in room 1408." Intrigued, Enslin calls the hotel and receives an unsurprising cold shoulder from the receptionist. It turns out the room has a nasty history and they have no intentions of letting ANYONE stay there any time soon. After finding an obscure discrimination law on the books that says the hotel has to book him if the room is open, he travels to New York and checks in.

It's at this point that he's asked by the hotel's manager (Sam Jackson) for a brief meeting in his office. The following exchange between Jackson and Cusack is a treat to watch. It's rare that two actors this talented and charismatic get to engage in a battle of wits such as this. Cusack is smug and ironic and entirely convincing as the down and out writer, and Jackson is great fun as the manager with an ominous message. "That room is fucking evil", he says, as he continues to warn Cusack of dangers and all of the people who have perished there. Undaunted, Cusack gathers his key (and an $800 bottle of booze given to him by Jackson) and enters the elevator. He pushes the old fashioned key into the lock and begins to turn. We see the inner workings of the lock as it twists and gives way to room 1408. The stage has been set.

The first act of the film does it's job more than adequately. It sets the audience up and works them into anticipation for the thrills and chills that are sure to come. Then the film proceeds to bludgeon us over the head for about an half an hour with every ghost story cliche ever put to film. You can almost write this stuff yourself. The alarm clock goes off, oh no! It's playing an usually harmless song but now it's scary, oh no! Things ramp up and Enslin eventually sees everything from his dead father to ghosts throwing themselves out the window. It's all interesting stuff but the viewer can't help but begin to feel numb about 10 minutes in when you realize that it's not letting up. It's hard to build any real suspense when it's just money shot after money shot. With the exception of a great little scene with Cusack on a window ledge, there wasn't much I found all that scary here.

"1408" becomes much better when it begins to play on it's strengths, which in this case are a hefty emotional subplot and Cusack's acting ability. Mary McCormack (of "Private Parts" fame, among others) is rock solid as Cusack's estranged wife. As it turns out, Enslin lost a daughter a few years back and was too messed up by the whole incident to stick with his spouse. The evil in the room, not wanting to miss an opportunity for torment, recalls the images of both his daughter and wife in an attempt to break him. It's these scenes that had the most impact on me, not the popcorn jump-scare stuff which unfortunately took up most of the first hour.

In a gut-wrenching scene towards the end, Eslin's daughter appears before him and he drops to his knees. He holds her in his arms and begins to cry, assuring the young girl that everything is going to be alright. It's at this point that she turns to dust, literally crumbling in his arms. A hush fell over the audience. Cusack is not the most convincing actor out there when it comes to being scared or frightened (he's too funny for his own good) but the man is rock solid with raw human emotion.

"1408" probably has enough corny jump-scares to satisfy the hunger of a summer audience clamoring for suspense. For some however, you may find the emotional angle between Cusack and his daughter to be the real draw. I certainly did. And I certainly didn't find all that much of it scary, although there are a few creepy spots and a general unsettling feeling that does run through the entire movie. This is probably the kind of story that works much better in print, but then again that seems to describe most King stories. For the jaded horror fans out there this one is recommended, but only as a DVD release.

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The Ending Of 1408 Explained

In 1999, prolific horror writer Stephen King released a short story called "1408." Focusing on a cynical non-fiction writer named Mike Enslin, the story follows Mike as he travels to the Dolphin Hotel in NYC to research his next book, "Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Hotel Rooms," by staying in the infamous room 1408. While the hotel manager, Mr. Olin, warns Mike of the room's horrific history, this doesn't dissuade him, and Mike experiences a night of darkness and haunting experiences that change him forever.

The short story was adapted into a film version in 2007 directed by Mikael Håfström, starring John Cusack as Mike and Samuel L. Jackson as Olin. The film follows the same simple premise, with Mike being urged to visit the Dolphin Hotel's room 1408. "1408" adds a sad backstory to Mike and ramps up the horror, but it's a relatively accurate adaptation of the source material, at least up until the various endings. As a classic, stuck-in-a-room horror story, what's not to like?

When "1408" was released, critics were generally positive, with the older horror film earning a Certified Fresh 79% on Rotten Tomatoes with 175 reviews. According to the Critics Consensus, "relying on psychological tension rather than overt violence and gore, 1408 is a genuinely creepy thriller with a strong lead performance by John Cusack." The movie also did quite well at the box office, earning around $133 million worldwide, with a budget of only $25 million ( Box Office Mojo ).

Despite how successful "1408" was, the movie can still be very confusing, especially if you don't know the history of the alternate endings. To help you out, here's the ending of "1408" — explained.

Room 1408 is definitely real

One thing that the King adaptation makes completely clear is that room 1408 and everything that goes on inside is not a part of Mike's imagination. It's real. When Mike originally goes to the Dolphin Hotel, he sees room 1408 as a challenge to prove that it's all fake. Documenting his experience on a cassette recorder, Mike begins to see and hear strange things soon after entering the room. He tries to leave the room but is unable to do so, and 1408 takes advantage of his past trauma with his father, wife, and daughter in order to torture him. At one point, 1408 even tricks Mike into thinking he's escaped and moved on with his life, but it's all another way to play with his mind.

So why is all this happening? Well, there's no real reason, aside from Mike's decision to enter the room. It appears to be an invitation to 1408 to test his limits, just as it has with all the other people who've stayed there. Many of the haunting events in 1408 have to do with past visitors — or victims — of the room, but it eventually gets personal, mixing the real world horror of trauma and grief with supernatural hauntings. Of course, with any horror film, it could be chalked up to the protagonist's imagination or some hallucination, but like with all of King's works, the story of "1408" is based in a world where dark and supernatural places do exist, and this hotel room is just one of them. In the theatrically released ending to "1408," Mike's wife Lily (Mary McCormack) validates his experiences when she finds the cassette tape and plays it, hearing the voice of their daughter, Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony), who at that time is already long dead.

The different endings of 1408

"1408" is a surprising film in that it actually has a few different endings. The ending that was originally shot for the film has Mike dying in a fire that destroys room 1408. At Mike's funeral, Olin arrives to see Lily and attempts to give her all of Mike's personal items, including his cassette player. She declines, and he returns to his car. Opening the box of Mike's stuff, Olin listens to the cassette tape and hears Katie's voice, before being horrified at seeing a burnt Mike in his backseat through the rearview mirror. This ending, which is dubbed the director's cut, ends with a look inside of what remains of room 1408, where a ghostly Mike smokes a cigarette and walks off to reunite with his daughter. Audiences apparently thought this ending was too dark, and so the official theatrical release ended with Mike's survival, his reunion with Lily, and the listening of the tape.

But it got even more confusing over the years, as the director's cut was reportedly made the default ending in later releases on streaming networks and cable broadcasts of the film. For people watching "1408" who might be interested in seeing both endings, it's now very difficult to find the ending in which Mike survives, at least in U.S. versions of the movie. Surprisingly, this actually happens to be the preferred ending for a lot of people, with many seeing the ending in which Mike and Lily hear their daughter's voice on the tape as more poignant and unsettling. The wikipedia page  fo "1408" reports that there was also a third ending, a slightly different reworking of the original ending with the funeral, but there are no sources listed for this information.

The movie vs. the short story

As with any adaptation, there are bound to be some changes to the story. With "1408," the source material is a short story, so the film has to expand and fill out Mike's experience in the room at the Dolphin to last a whole movie's length. Probably the biggest change between the story and the film is the addition of Mike's backstory. Mike has a wife, Lily, who he is estranged from after their daughter Katie dies. It's an event that no parent ever wants to experience, and the grief tears apart many couples. 

In the aftermath, Mike turns to his writing and a fascination with the supernatural to deal, pursuing any and all reports of ghostly sightings or experiences, yet finding them all to be hoaxes. Then he gets a postcard of the Dolphin Hotel in the mail with the warning, "Don't enter 1408." Mike obviously doesn't listen and heads there right away, and this is where the film version of "1408" catches up with the beginning of the short story.

Along with that, the various endings of the film definitely diverge from the short story. In the original tale, Mike survives 1408 by setting his shirt on fire and breaking the room's hold on him for long enough to escape. Luckily for Mike, another visitor to the hotel is right outside in the hallway with a bucket of ice in hand. Hearing Mike's screams, he runs to him and douses the fire. After everything that happens, Mike stops writing and lives a miserable, fearful life, scared of the dark and the outside world. 

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Jaded writer Mike Enslin (John Cusack) makes his living writing about haunted houses, but he doesn't bank on a real brush with the paranormal when he visits a New York hotel and checks into the titular room 1408. Things certainly go bump in the night in this slow-burning Stephen King adaptation. But 1408's short story origins are very clear: think a long, if enjoyable, episode of The Twilight Zone.

Cusack's character is instantly fascinating: the cynical, hard-drinking writer who we just know is about to have a terrifying experience. There's humour in his slightly surreal exchange with the hotel manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L Jackson), as Olin tries to warn and then bribe Mike not to stay in the famously "evil" room. Many people have died there: will Mike survive? Suspense mixes with more sharp humour as Mike checks in and very gradually starts to notice some weird goings-on, that escalate into full-blown horror.

"CUSACK KEEPS THE BUILD-UP WATCHABLE"

At first, it's gripping, but the dreamlike hotel room sequences are a little too long. You start to wonder where the film is going: to the predictable twist, or just kind of nowhere? The eventual ending is certainly thought-provoking, its ambiguity both laudable and frustrating. It's still a slight story, but Cusack's charisma keeps the build-up watchable, and the denoument just the right side of far-fetched. Jackson's character is disappointingly underused, but fans of Cusack, King and psychological horror will want to check out 1408 as much as Mike does.

1408 is out in the UK on 31st August 2007.

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Time Out says

Stephen King, the author of this source material, has already done haunted hotels. So the idea of stretching what was simply supposed to be a dessert course (a short story in King’s 2000 audiobook Blood and Smoke ) to a full meal speaks more to Hollywood appetites than the proper dictates of drama. The tale is skimpy, mostly set in a New York City suite that, despite its bustling midtown location, is said to host unspeakable evil—and it doesn’t even have Wi-Fi.

But as shown by Piper Laurie in Carrie and Kathy Bates in Misery, King’s work can often inspire wonderfully unhinged turns from actors smart enough to be in on the joke. And that’s the case with 1408, in which John Cusack uncorks one of his most verbal, manic performances to date as a ghost debunker who fearlessly checks into the room to write a final chapter in his latest bestseller-to-be. Cusack, comfortable in ironic Hawaiian shirt and curled lip, excels during the film’s initial you-gotta-be-kidding phase; he’s even better by the time his character is screaming deranged insults into a minibar. Swedish director Mikael Hfstrm ultimately lays on the CGI too thick, but when he trusts his star, who fully dives into psychological meltdown, he’s on to something. (Opens Fri; Click here for venues.) — Joshua Rothkopf

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Den of Geek

1408 review

A movie that has Sarah completely lost for words? Say it isn't so! This adaptation of a Stephen King story made big bucks at the boxoffice, but is it actually worth seeing?

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It’s a rare film that leaves me with absolutely nothing to talk about in a review, but 1408 , along with the remake of The Omen , is one of those rare films. I could tell you everything you need to know in one line – it’s an adaptation of a Stephen King ghost story. But if I left it at that, you’d probably feel short changed, so I’ll find something else to tell you, too.

In the grand scheme of Stephen King movies, 1408 is sort of average. It’s no Carrie or The Shining , but neither is it way down the list with dross like Secret Window or The Langoliers . 1408 is the highest grossing Stephen King adaptation to date, but I can’t quite fathom why, because it’s utterly unremarkable. It’s totally inoffensive, too, so maybe that’s actually why.

Casting John Cusack as the lead probably didn’t hurt, either. He’s watchable and engaging, keeping your attention before anything interesting happens and even after it all goes completely implausibly batshit insane. Considering the film is basically just one man in one room, it’s important to pick the right man, so 1408 can have points for that. Another point should be awarded for Samuel L. Jackson, who, despite having sod all to do in this film, is nevertheless absolutely genius. I want him to come and live in my fridge.

What else? Well, there were a couple of jumpy moments in the film, though nothing that’ll stick with you or give you nightmares afterwards. It’s got a really stupid ending (if you’ve seen Dead End , it’s basically the same is-it-a-dream-or-reality-haha-here’s-some-evidence-to-screw-you-over ending as in that) but as soon as you know it’s written by Stephen King you kind of expect that. Um. The special effects are quite good, though nothing you’ll rave about. 1408 has to be the most adequate film I’ve seen this year. It doesn’t do anything particularly special; it’s not stupid enough to be annoying nor clever enough to be remarkable; it’s not scary enough to stick in your mind but it’s not so boring you’ll fall asleep halfway through. It’s just there. It exists. It’s… you know, it’s alright.

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Sarah Dobbs | @SarahDobbs

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor. She loves horror movies, unusual storytelling techniques, and smoking jackets. Ask her about the Saw movies. Go on, ask.

1408 Review

31 Aug 2007

There’s been a distinct paucity of ghouls, goblins and ghosties in horror of late. While we’ve been treated to plenty of shocks à la buzz saw, thanks to the current wave of torture-porn, it’s been a while since all hell literally broke loose to satisfying effect.

1408 goes a long way to redressing that balance. Based on a short story by Stephen King, the original monarch of menace, it’s an inspired, white-knuckle chill-ride with old-school leanings.

The tale, first released as an audiobook in 2000, follows Mike Enslin (John Cusack), a man with a troubled family history who writes pulpy ghost guides. He replays the same ritual: checking into a supposedly ghost-infested hotel room, a single cigarette tucked behind his ear, and waiting until dawn. He’s given up the habit, but carries the smoke with him, the sole concession of a sceptic that there might be something out there, and that one night he’ll meet it. And sure enough, in Room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel, that cigarette finally gets sparked.

Essentially, this is a one-man show: for most of the run-time, once Enslin enters 1408, it’s just a guy reacting to four walls and some furniture. In John Cusack’s hands, though, it becomes a lot more. It’s his first foray into the chilly mind-corridors of horror (unless you count psycho-thriller Identity), and he attacks it with impressive energy.

His Enslin starts cynical, pale as a ghost himself and haunted by memories; once the real haunting begins, he unravels before our eyes. Rather than ham it up, Cusack, a master of understatement, plays it cool and quiet, so when he does freak out, it’s all the more powerful.

Speaking of understatement, Samuel L. Jackson dials down his usual shouty schtick in a small role as the spooky hotel’s spookier manager. An effective early scene sees him plead with Enslin to stay away from the cursed 14th floor, producing grisly photos of earlier victims and delivering a one-liner that’s sure to become classic Jackson: “It’s an evil fucking room.” His other appearance, later on in the movie, doesn’t work so well, an unintentionally comical use of special effects that comes off like a deleted scene from Ghostbusters.

In fact, one niggle that can be raised is that the film gets swamped unnecessarily with CGI towards the end. Just as Kubrick’s take on The Shining cut out the supernatural animal topiaries, the makers of 1408 have excised some of King’s more colourful paranormal flourishes (adieu, woodcut wolf). Even so, the later, big-scale set-pieces don’t work as well as the early, squirmy jolts of fear as the room starts to turn on Enslin.

Proving you don’t need piles of body parts to make a scary movie, director Mikael Håfström wrings unease out of everyday guest-house items - chocolates left on a turned-down bed, an antique thermostat, the ominous red glow of an alarm clock. Once it’s set up, the frankly ridiculous duel - one man versus an en suite - works surprisingly well. So well, in fact, that it’s a shame when Håfström suffers from third-act nerves, involving Enslin’s family in the action and pulling a trick that’s meant as a clever twist but is actually a sneaky cheat.

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Common sense media reviewers.

Hotel room horror is more mental than physical.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Cynical writer learns to cope with grief and guilt

A surfer is hit by a wave and sinks underwater, th

Dead bodies in a tub appear very briefly undressed

Moderate language, used in frustration and fear. O

Dell laptop, Yahoo email.

Mike drinks frequently (cognac, hotel liquor bottl

Parents need to know that this horror film is more about psychology than gore, though the main character, Mike, does sustain some bloody injuries from the various attacks on him (flying furniture, collapsing architecture, and more). He also suffers increasing emotional distress and irrationality, remembering both his…

Positive Messages

Cynical writer learns to cope with grief and guilt through supernatural experiences; much of the movie takes place in a room described as "evil."

Violence & Scariness

A surfer is hit by a wave and sinks underwater, then appears unconscious on shore; some brutal violence is indicated in newspaper and file photos (bodies are bloody, dead by suicides -- including drowning, throat slicing, gun shots, and hanging). A couple of ghosts jump out of the hotel room window (woman screams as she falls); hand smashed by window bleeds (bloody smears on walls, in sink, on shower curtain); man almost falls off building ledge; room "assaults" Mike, first overheating, then freezing, then collapsing, crashing, bleeding, and burning.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Dead bodies in a tub appear very briefly undressed (not explicit); bikinis and swimwear on beach.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Moderate language, used in frustration and fear. One "f--k," plus repeated uses of "s--t," "ass," "damn," "hell," and a few of "bastard," "a--hole," and "bitch."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Mike drinks frequently (cognac, hotel liquor bottles); Mike thinks he's been "dosed." Mike's mirror image smokes; a former smoker, he ritually keeps a cigarette near him so he might use it if necessary -- by film's end, he does.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this horror film is more about psychology than gore, though the main character, Mike, does sustain some bloody injuries from the various attacks on him (flying furniture, collapsing architecture, and more). He also suffers increasing emotional distress and irrationality, remembering both his young daughter, who died of a disease (scenes show the wasting girl and arguments between her parents), and his resentful, despairing, wheelchair-bound father. The nightmare-style narrative is illogical and sometimes disturbing, including ghosts, loud noises, jump scenes, and grotesque images of insects and bloody corpses. Mike drinks frequently and smokes once (very dramatically). Language includes one use of "f--k" and plenty of other words: "s--t," "ass," "bitch," etc. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Based on 7 parent reviews

Good psychological horror

Really eerie, what's the story.

Stephen King makes a good living writing about scary things and places. He also writes frequently about what it feels like to write about scary things and places. 1408, based on one of King's short stories, is sort of a mix of both. Mike ( John Cusack ) is depressed about what he does for a living. He writes cheesy, repetitive "ghostly" travel books ( 10 Haunted Hotels , 10 Haunted Lighthouses ); he researches them by spending nights in supposedly haunted rooms, then produces rote manuscripts that appeal to unimaginative readers (his disdain for his audience is revealed during a public reading attended by a few dimwitted fans). Mike's frustration and cynicism come to a head when an anonymous postcard writer challenges him to stay in room 1408 of Manhattan's Dolphin Hotel -- which has produced more than 50 corpses over the decades. When the management refuses to let him, Mike gets curious, eventually muscling his way in via legal threats and generally obnoxious behavior. He's warned off by earnest manager Mr. Olin (a very subdued Samuel L. Jackson ), who insists it's not because he cares about Mike but because he doesn't "want to clean up the mess." But Mike thinks he's seen it all ("I know that ghoulies and ghosties don't exist") and takes the room.

Is It Any Good?

If you've read or seen The Shining , you've probably seen it all, too -- or at least what goes on in this room. Considerably more claustrophobic than that story's Overlook Hotel -- it is, after all, set in just one room -- 1408 nonetheless deploys the same gimmicks: cracked, bloody walls; babies crying; ghosts in emotional disarray; and flashbacks to distressing personal history (in this case, Mike's daughter, dead of a disease that makes her very pale and dark-eyed). Mike actually feels bad about a number of family traumas, including having abandoned his wife Lily ( Mary McCormack ) in order to drown his misery in sad-sack drinking, beach-bumming, and lazy writing.

The room locks Mike inside and then proceeds to bring all of his roiling emotions to the surface, sometimes very cleverly but more often very tediously (a window smashes his hand, the room turns hot and cold, the walls collapse, the room changes temporal dimensions, etc.). The room's most deliciously perverse (and always jarring) assault is the clock radio's auto-turn-on, which repeatedly blares the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun." But even better, when Mike looks out a window to a room across the street hoping to signal for help, he sees a mirror version of himself -- dressed differently, unspeaking, apparently from another time. Unable to communicate with himself, Mike discovers that he is, after all, quite stunningly alone. Such moments grant Cusack a chance to disintegrate subtly rather than raging about in a spooky-horror-filmy fashion, and he takes full advantage of the opportunity.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the enduring appeal of ghost stories and haunted house tales. Why are they so popular? Do you think strong emotions can continue to "occupy" a place? How does the movie make room 1408 seem scary before viewers even see the inside? How does Mike's past become part of the room's arsenal of disturbing imagery? Families can also discuss why people like being scared at the movies. What makes some horror movies better at accomplishing this than others?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 21, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : October 2, 2007
• Cast : John Cusack , Mary McCormack , Samuel L. Jackson
• Director : Mikael Hafstrom
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : MGM/UA
• Genre : Horror
• Run time : 94 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : thematic material including disturbing sequences of violence and terror, frightening images and language.
• Last updated : October 31, 2023

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1408: the creepy true story that inspired the movie.

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1408 Is Stephen King’s Most Underrated Short Story Adaptation

I'm very worried about barry keoghan's beatles movie casting after last year's hit movie, the watchers ending explained.

• "1408" is a horror movie adaptation of Stephen King's short story of the same name, and is considered one of the best in the genre.
• The story was inspired by real incidents at San Diego's Hotel del Coronado, where a young woman named Kate Morgan took her own life.
• Parapsychologist Christopher Chacon's investigation at the hotel revealed several paranormal incidents, although not as terrifying as depicted in the movie.

As surreal as 1408 's storyline may seem, it is actually based on a true story. Directed by Swedish filmmaker Mikael Håfström, 1408 was released in 2007 and is still hailed as one of the best horror movie adaptations of Stephen King's books . It featured John Cusack as Mike Enslin, a paranormal skeptic who pens books that debunk supernatural occurrences. His latest investigation takes him to a grand New York City hotel named The Dolphin that accommodates an infamous haunted room, the titular 1408. Despite warnings from hotel manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson), Mike insists on staying in 1408 and soon finds his skepticism tested in terrifying ways.

The Stephen King movie is based on the short story of the same name penned by the master of the macabre, Stephen King. The story first appeared in his self-narrated audiobook Blood And Smoke, and later in his short story collection Everything’s Eventual . In the movie, Mike records his thoughts on room 1408, stating, “ Hotel rooms are a naturally creepy place, don’t you think? I mean, how many people have slept in that bed before you? How many of them were sick? How many of them lost their minds ?” That line is ripped almost verbatim from the foreword King wrote for 1408 in Everything’s Eventual , but the inherently creepy nature of hotel rooms was not the only inspiration for the story.

The John Cusack vehicle 1408 is the story of a man versus a room, making it more impressive that it's one of Stephen King's best adaptations.

The Hotel Del Coronado Inspired Stephen King's 1408

According to reports (via Hotel del Coronado’s website ), Stephen King was inspired to write the short story, 1408 , after reading about an investigation conducted by parapsychologist Christopher Chacon at San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado. Built in the late 1880s, the luxurious hotel was a playground for Hollywood’s elite in the Roaring Twenties and hosted stars including Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, and Greta Garbo. However, it is most famous for a tragic incident that took place in its vicinity a few years after its grand opening.

In 1892 a young woman named Kate Morgan checked into the Hotel del Coronado on Thanksgiving under a false name and informed the staff she was waiting for a male companion. Five days after checking in, however, Kate’s body was found on a flight of stairs leading to the beach after she took her own life. Since then, hotel guests and employees have reported several spooky incidents mostly centered around the third-floor guestroom Morgan occupied. From inexplicably moving objects to disembodied voices and footsteps, the hotel's staff has reported it all.

Are Any Of The Events In 1408 Real?

Strangely, Christopher Chacon experienced paranormal incidents in a room that was a part of the maids’ quarters in Hotel del Coronado; not in Kate Morgan's original room. After setting up infrared cameras, magnetic meters, and other relevant investigation devices, Chacon and his team detected a total of 37 abnormalities in the former maid’s room, including a glass that fell to the floor by itself. Chacon’s experiences were not even remotely as terrifying and bizarre as Mike Enslin's in 1408 . However, they still established that Stephen King's short story and the 1408 movie adaptation have some semblance of reality to them.

Sources: Hotel del Coronado’s website

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A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatur... Read all A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night. A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night.

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Daisy Ridley battles jellyfish and the patriarchy with equal pluck and aplomb in “Young Woman and the Sea.”  

Ridley stars in this compelling biographical drama as Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Ederle accomplished this feat in 1926—nearly a century before the open-water swimming triumph depicted in last year’s Oscar-nominated “Nyad,” to which comparisons are inevitable. For one thing, sports nutrition has come a long way since then. No one was lowering nets full of tea and fried chicken down to Diana Nyad as she made the arduous 100-mile journey from Cuba to Florida. 

That’s one of the most fascinating and frustrating elements of director Joachim Rønning ’s film, based on sportswriter Glenn Stout ’s book of the same name: The way in which the men in charge of this sport fundamentally misunderstand what Ederle and other female athletes need to train, compete and thrive. Also, they simply don’t care. Mostly, they’re downright hostile, even to Olympians. But as women, we’re resourceful, and Ederle consistently finds a way. Her quick wit and a strong sense of self buoy her when others underestimate her; the same fierce spark we saw in Ridley as Rey in the last three “ Star Wars ” movies burns brightly here, as well. 

“Young Woman and the Sea” is a worthwhile film for other young women to see, especially if they’re involved in sports. But its themes of daring and perseverance should resonate with anyone who’s ever gone after a goal. Rønning has found a solid balance here: He’s made a feel-good sports film that’s stirring without being schmaltzy, one that dips into genre tropes just enough to provide familiarity and structure.  

It’s also a thrilling adventure. The Norwegian filmmaker, whose Oscar-nominated “ Kon-Tiki ” from 2012 probably prepared him for the challenges of shooting in the water, makes us feel like we’re slicing through the waves alongside Ederle. Her passage across a bright-red jellyfish field is particularly harrowing, and the depth of her fear is evident, even in the dark of night, once she’s forced to go it alone in the shallows outside Dover. Cinematographer Oscar Faura (“ The Impossible ,” “ The Imitation Game ”) vividly depicts a variety of environments, from Ederle’s cramped, working-class upbringing to the sun-dappled vastness of the English Channel.  

But when we first see Ederle, as a sickly child in 1914 Manhattan, she’s on the brink of succumbing to measles. The adorable Olive Abercrombie plays her as a spirited tween who overcomes this physical adversity to pursue her dream of learning to swim, even though that’s something girls just don’t do, as her traditional, German-immigrant father ( Kim Bodnia ) repeatedly scolds her. Ridley takes over as a teenager, with Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Helen Reddy in the biopic “ I Am Woman ”) playing Trudy’s older sister, Meg. (They're well-cast as sisters and share a warm chemistry, but both actresses look too mature to be playing characters who are so much younger, which is distracting for a while.) Their elegant and headstrong mother ( Jeanette Hain ) insists that both daughters should become swimmers, which inspires the obligatory training montages in a tiny, indoor pool, led by the amusingly no-nonsense Lottie Epstein ( Sian Clifford ).  

The script from veteran screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (“ Catch Me If You Can ,” “ The Terminal ”) poignantly balances Trudy’s home life and her athletic ambitions – the friction between what’s expected of her as a butcher’s daughter and what she wants for herself. She’s fully aware of the path that’s been set for her—the arranged marriage to a nice German boy, the neighborhood she’d likely never leave—and she simply rejects it all. The way she holds her own at a hotel bar in the French coastal town that's the launching point for her 21-mile swim suggests she’ll be just fine before she ever sets foot in the water. Among the hard-drinking locals, Stephen Graham and Alexander Karim stand out in crucial roles as competitors who become unlikely allies when they recognize their own insane drive in her. 

Still, this is a movie in which the journey is the destination, quite literally. The low-tech method of reporting on her progress across the English Channel initially provides some laughs, then great tension. The ebullient sense of joy on the other hand is crowd-pleasing without being corny. “Young Woman and the Sea” doesn’t reinvent the genre in any way, but it keeps us engrossed for every strenuous stroke.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Young Woman and the Sea (2024)

129 minutes

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When Edgar fails to arrive at school, Ledroit is put on the case. Still haunted by a lost Black teen, Ledroit is driven to get the Andersons a different outcome. This is no easy feat in a city determined to discard what is deemed unsavory, and everyone involved with the case is hiding something. As Ledroit chases down leads, slowed by inadequate technology, red tape and his own pain, the horrors of NYC’s government policies come to light. It becomes clear that misconduct and violence at the highest levels are complicit in harming the city’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

Ultimately, “Eric” is about much more than a missing boy. The series revolves around corruption and inhumanity, topics that will thunder in the viewer’s mind long after the final episode. Disturbing but profound, the show asks why only certain people are allowed happy endings and what that means for those who won’t ever see justice.

“Eric” premieres May 30 on Netflix .

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‘Doctor Who’ Episode 5 Recap: Bursting the Bubble

The Doctor saves a rich wannabe vlogger from being eaten by a giant slug, but a final twist leaves him reeling.

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By Isobel Lewis

Isobel Lewis has been watching “Doctor Who” since 2005. As a teenager, she made GIFs of the show for her fan Tumblr.

Season 1, Episode 5: ‘Dot and Bubble’

We’ve passed the midway point in this season of “Doctor Who,” and the show’s ambition shows no sign of subsiding. After playing with themes of religion and politics, it’s artificial intelligence, already touched on in the earlier episode “Boom,” that’s the topic du jour in “Dot and Bubble.”

With its slick visuals and clear anti-technology viewpoint, Episode 5 has echoes of “Black Mirror,” Charlie Brooker’s dystopian TV anthology — as this season’s showrunner, Russell T Davies, who also wrote the episode, noted in a recent interview.

But whereas Brooker can use each episode of “Black Mirror” to focus on a different aspect of contemporary technology, Davies has just 43 minutes to explore its overarching morality in “Dot and Bubble.”

It makes for a slightly overstuffed episode — critiquing and parodying capitalism, YouTube and celebrity worship — that is saved, in part, by a genuinely unexpected twist in the final act.

As with the previous episode, “ 73 Yards ,” the Doctor doesn’t feature all that heavily in “Dot and Bubble” and the action feels less consequential to the season’s overall arc. Instead, the focus is on Lindy Pepper-Bean (Callie Cooke), a blonde-haired, blue-eyed wannabe vlogger with a penchant for pastels.

Lindy’s life revolves around a two-part technology: Dot, a tiny robotic pearl that hovers in front of her, and Bubble, a virtual sphere of colorful screens beamed around her head. Within the Bubble, the perpetually peppy Lindy is in constant conversation with her friends; she chats away with the cadence — and vocal fry — of a family-friendly YouTuber, and they coo back.

This is all takes place on the futuristic colony of Finetime, where “everything’s fine, all of the time.” Here, rich kids have been sent from a planet called Homeworld — which, it turns out, has been destroyed — to work just two hours a day and party the rest of the time. It’s “Love Island: The Planet,” quips Ruby (Millie Gibson), the Doctor’s companion.

Lindy is dependent on her Dot and Bubble, and not just for validation. The technology tells her when to go to the bathroom and where to walk; without it, she hobbles into lampposts. It also keeps her in a constant state of distraction — so that she doesn’t even notice sluglike monsters are eating the people around her alive.

The Doctor pops up in Lindy’s Bubble to warn her about the creatures, but Lindy doesn’t want to know, and blocks him. Ruby has better luck getting through, showering Lindy with compliments until she agrees to look beyond the Bubble, where she sees a co-worker’s wiggling legs disappearing inside one of the creatures as he’s consumed whole.

Yet when Lindy finally switches off her Bubble and comes face to face with the monsters, they ignore her, and the Doctor wants to know why. Lindy calls up her “mummy” back on Homeworld and Ruby instantly recognizes her — as will the show’s regular viewers: She is played by the actor Susan Twist, who has been making mysterious cameo appearances throughout the episodes. But the Doctor extinguishes any hope that her significance will be explained just yet. “We’ll save that for later,” he says.

Back in her Bubble, and terrified, Lindy gathers her dwindling circle of friends. A monster gobbles up one of the group while the others watch in horror, and Lindy begrudgingly gives the Doctor the floor. He explains that there is a river running beneath Finetime that they can use to escape, but Lindy’s Dot glitches when he tells her where the access point is. “You still have battery problems?” Ruby screams, in comic disbelief.

Lindy wobbles out into the world once more, and is rescued from walking right into a monsters’ trap by Ricky September (Tom Rhys Harries), a top influencer and heartthrob. She is naturally thrilled to be in Ricky’s orbit, but when she gushes, “I thought this was the worst day of my life, but maybe it’s the best,” Ricky points out that the creatures are still eating people alive. The exchange is played for laughs, but foreshadows darkness to come.

After charging their Dots, the pair escapes underground, where Lindy reconnects with the Doctor and Ruby. Soon, the Doctor realizes that the monsters are working their way through Finetime’s residents in alphabetical order, by last name — and Lindy Pepper-Bean is next on their list. The Dot has become sentient, the Doctor has worked out (though how is never quite explained), and after years of listening to Lindy and her friends vapidly yapping, it has turned on them. First, it created the monsters. Now, it just wants destruction.

As if on cue, the Dot attacks Lindy, and Ricky tries to defend her. Then comes a real rug pull. The Dot is about to make a final swoop at Lindy, when she yells that the Dot should kill Ricky instead, because “Ricky September” is a stage name: His real last name is Coombes — which comes before hers in the alphabet.

The Dot kills Ricky and Lindy escapes with a nervous smile on her face. But her selfish outburst was totally at odds with the Doctor’s ideology and that of the show: that people have an innate capacity for good.

She is greeted at the river by a friend called Hoochy Pie (Niamh Lynch); the Doctor and Ruby are there too, and can immediately sense something’s up when Lindy lies and tells them that Ricky went back to save other people. “He was so brave,” she insists.

Rather than letting Lindy and her friends escape via the river, the Doctor offers them a ride to a new, safe planet. Lindy rolls her eyes, and says she can’t travel with him, “Because you, sir, are not one of us.”

The words reverberate in the air. What does Lindy mean? Is the Doctor not like Lindy because he’s not rich, or because he’s an alien, or Black? When Hoochy calls the TARDIS an example of “voodoo,” she uses a term that has a history as a racial slur.

The Doctor has always put som much effort into saving people, yet Lindy and Hoochy make a mockery of that work. He lets out an incredulous, manic cackle, which shifts into an angry roar that sends spittle flying through the air.

This time, there is no wistful gaze as the Doctor returns to the TARDIS. He slams the door behind him, leaving Lindy and her friends to their fate.

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Review: The Force is not with new Jedi-centric 'Star Wars: The Acolyte'

"Star Wars" is a complicated beast.

Sometimes it's dark, complex and ambitious, like Disney+ series "Andor" or "The Last Jedi" film. Sometimes it's rousing, epic and feel-good ("Return of the Jedi.") And sometimes it's just weird, silly and unsatisfying (prequel "The Phantom Menace").

So perhaps it's only fitting that the prequel to that prequel, Disney+'s new series "The Acolyte" (streaming Tuesdays, 9 EDT/PDT, ★★ out of four) falls into that last category. Full of logical fallacies, hokey dialogue and nonsensical plots, "Acolyte" feels entirely of a piece with the worst elements of the prequel trilogy, which many hardcore fans love to hate, even 25 years later. The series, created by "Russian Doll" producer Leslye Headland, certainly has ambition as it tries to tell a showy story about the mythology and magic of the Jedi and the Force. But even the best of intentions can go awry.

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All the sci-fi/fantasy jargon, dramatic costumes, brightly colored lightsabers, fancy hairdos and ominous villains Headland can stuff into "Acolyte" can't make a good story on their own. There has to be some emotion and depth to the characters and their woes. There has to be more than perfunctory plot points. There has to be a sense of adventure and wonder. And there has to be something that captures the feeling of "Star Wars," not just the aesthetics. "Acolyte" doesn't have it, no matter how hard it tries.

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A century before Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson) felt a disturbance in the Force in "Phantom," a rogue "Force-user" is hunting and killing Jedi masters across the galaxy. At first thought to be former Jedi Padawan Osha (Amandla Stenberg), it turns out the Jedi killer is her twin sister, Mae (also Stenberg), long presumed dead after a mysterious fire when the two were children. The blaze resulted in the death of their family and Osha being taken into the Jedi order. (This "twist" is revealed in the first few minutes of the series premiere.)

Determined to bring in Mae or Osha (or both) and figure all this out is Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae, "Squid Game"), who trained Osha before she left the order. He's joined by a handful of other colorful and utterly forgettable Jedi: Is Mae out for revenge for what she believed happened to her family all those years ago? Or is there a more nefarious power brewing in the galaxy? There's the pickle, and a flashback episode featuring Jodie Turner-Smith as the girls' mother, Aniseya, and the leader of a "witch coven" doesn't provide many answers.

It's all a little too complex (witches, in this galaxy?) and a little too simple (ah yes, the old evil-twin twist). The reveal of Mae comes too early in the series, removing much of the mystery element that makes "Acolyte" unique in the ever-expanding "Star Wars" canon. There are too many characters with too many quirks to make them stand out from one another. You'll be hard-pressed to tell the difference between various aliens paired with Charlie Barnett's Jedi knight Yord.

But "Acolyte" has its moments. The final scene of Episode 4 (the last made available for review) captures a real sense of horror and fear when a villain is introduced. Perhaps that bodes well for the final four episodes in the season. Jung-jae and Stenberg make a great pair, and the former nicely proves his acting chops in English (he won an Emmy for "Squid," which was entirely in Korean). And it's always nice to see "Matrix" star Carrie Ann Moss, who appears briefly in two episodes, wielding a lightsaber as if she's done it all her life.

Certainly a segment of the "Star Wars" fandom will devour every frame of "Acolyte." For them, the complex mythology is the meat of the meal, not a frilly and silly garnish. But superfans can forgive a lot of sins. Some genre TV series can make their mythology and internal world-building more interesting and engaging than this (Amazon's late, great "The Expanse," among many others). As it stands, though, the Jedi lore is obtuse and dull. It needs spicing up.

Like the young Padawans (the "Star Wars" term for students or apprentices) that are omnipresent in the series, "Acolyte" has a great deal of potential. "The Mandalorian" made "Star Wars" a Western. "Andor" made it a revolution . "Acolyte" could have made it a great work of fantasy and mystery.

But mostly it's a great big sigh.