Hello Halloween month buddies! It’s Slick Dungeon and I’m back to review another Stephen King adaptation. What’s the most haunted hotel room in the world of Stephen King fiction? Is it room 237 from The Overlook Hotel in The Shining? Not even close. Nope, it’s the room 1408 at The Dolphin Hotel in New York. MIke Enslin tries to spend a single night there and boy does it go poorly. I’ll be reviewing the film which was an adaptation of the Stephen King story. There will be spoilers in this review so if you don’t enjoy that, turn up your thermostat, grab a drink from your mini-fridge, order up the movie in your hotel room, make your escape after said room tries to kill you, and come on back here to read the review!

1408 background

In 1999, Stephen King wrote one of his most frightening short stories. 1408 told the story of a cynic and skeptic who believes in nothing, named Mike Enslin. Ironically, he made his living by “exposing” haunted locations and saying how scary they were, even though he never saw anything supernatural at all. But when he walks into a certain hotel room, everything changes.

This story was adapted into a film in 2007 and starred John Cusack in the role of Mike. It’s a horrifying film with tons of scares. And it was hugely successful.

The film was made for $25 million and made $20 million in just the opening weekend. It went on to gross a staggering $132 million, proving once again, horror is not just good entertainment, it’s good business. Now, on to the review!

Mike Enslin doesn’t believe in anything

Mike Enslin is known for writing books like, 10 Haunted Graveyards, 10 Haunted Houses and similar titles. His latest book is 10 Haunted Hotels. Mike goes to a supposedly haunted hotel where the owners are more than eager to share with him all of the creepy stories they have heard. Mike spends a quiet night there, observes nothing at all unusual, and promptly awards them a rating of 5 skulls in his tape recorder. Clearly, Mike is just going along with these stories so he, and the hotels, can profit.

At a book signing Mike is mechanically signing his books. But a woman asks him to sign his first novel. This book is a literary story about a father and son which clearly has a lot of meaning for Mike but did poorly in sales.

It’s safe to say Mike’s days have become routine. And it’s clear he’s estranged from his wife. But when he receives a postcard, it has a strange message on it that will change his life. The postcard shows The Dolphin Hotel and says, “Don’t enter 1408”

The morbid history of room 1408

Mike does some research and discovers a long history of death in this room. Also, he figures out that if you add up the numbers 1408 it equals 13. And, since hotels often don’t label their 13th floor, this is the 13th room on the 13th floor of The Dolphin Hotel.

Mike can’t resit wanting to stay here. But the manager, Gerald Olin, played by Samuel L. Jackson, does everything he can to dissuade Mike. Olin tells Mike that in the past 95 years, no one has lasted more than an hour in the room. He goes so far as to offer to let Mike stay in a different room for free, write his story, and go on his way. Just as long as he doesn’t go into 1408. But Mike is stubborn and determined.

Mike enters the room

Threatening legal action if Olin doesn’t let Mike into the room, the hotel manager relents. When Mike enters, it’s a normal room. There is typical furniture and paintings. There’s a little min-fridge where you can pay exorbitant amounts for a tiny bottle of alcohol. The standard hotel setup.

Mike thinks this is going to be yet another routine, boring visit, where nothing happens but he can write a spooky story about it.

But then, the radio starts playing, “We’ve Only Just Begun” by The Carpenters. And the clock in the room starts counting down from 60. This kicks off an escalating cascade of horrors for Mike to endure.

Terror in 1408

Just in case you haven’t seen this movie, I’m not going to go into detail about the horrors Mike experiences in 1408. But watching John Cusack act in these situations is an absolute delight. And there are some genuinely terrifying moments here. It rapidly becomes apparent why no one lasts more than an hour.

The remainder of the film is seeing whether or not Mike will survive this. Is he going insane? Possibly. Even if he does get out, this could drive him to madness. Did Olin set him up so he could profit from the story? Unlikely, but possible. Is this an evil room trying to kill its occupant? This seems like the most likely option.

I’m also not going to tell you if Mike survives here. But I will say, the horror here is real. And it goes to some very deep emotional places. And not only that, even when it seems like there is a breather here, the doom is simply waiting in the wings to return in the worst way. It’s a masterful horror film and if you don’t get scared at least once during this, well, you’re braver than me.

1408 in conclusion

This is one of my all time favorite Stephen King adaptations. And for good reason. The cast is great, even though the majority of acting is done by Cusack himself. As always, Samuel L. Jackson is a joy to watch. And just when you think you’ve figured out what will happen, the movie throws you for a complete loop and brings the horror right back. It’s relentless. While there are certainly jump scares, there are also other types of horror here. There is gore for sure. But also psychological terror, impending doom, survival horror, and just about everything else you might want out of a horror film.

If you want a good horror film about a hotel, watch The Shining. If you want a movie about a hotel that will scare your pants off, watch 1408.

Hospitably yours,

Slick Dungeon

Want More?

Want to see some of my other King reviews? Take a look here!

Looking for a good King read? Check out this one!

Did you watch 1408? Did it scare you as much as it did me? Let me know in the comments!