Starts off well but eventually descends into madness. Not the frightening madness we expect -- just silly madness.

This film had to have reshoots. I can sense them towards the end like others above me have stated. The ending with the man in the chair reminded me of something stolen from Inspector Gadget.

Still, this isn't the worst flick I have seen this year. C+

Loved it.

The first hour is perfection, especially the buildup. The last 40 minutes are a bit flawed, but not so much that it ruins the entire movie. John Cusack is superb. The movie is almost carried on his shoulders. Everyone else is effective, but not enough that they stand out. Tony Shalhoub has a glorified cameo, and is credited fourth. But, that might be expected when most of the movie takes place inside room 1408.

Grade: A (A+ for first hour, B+ for last 40 minutes)

Ya, kudos to John Cusack who carried to movie to as far as it could have. If the movie had stayed simpler, it would have been A LOT better. The first things that happen in the room was fantastic... then it just gets kinda loopy in the last fourth like most horror films. The suspense was amazing after Jackson's speech and Cusack's entrance into the room. I had no idea what the ending really meant though, and didn't really care.

Grade: B-

It's a very good film that overstays it's welcome somewhat in the final act, but more than makes up for it in the final scene of the movie. I could not have loved that ending more, with the look on Mary McCormak's face and all. I also liked how it didn't go for cheap scares like some other PG-13 films. And it's tone is thankfully much more creepier than anything The Ring (Most overrated thriller/horror film of all-time) could muster.

B+

Another movie me and the brother agree on.

The first 40 minutes are perfection. That said even thou what follows doesn't live up to the promise its still a solid horror movie. Its never scary but very few horrors really are, and that ledge scene is intense (agree with Moviedude).

That scene with the drinks fridge and Jackson screamed Wicker man though

A-

Completely average.
Only thing I really liked was the "express check-out or 60 more minutes" setup towards the end.
But yeah, like someone said before, all the money shots are in the trailer, so if you've seen the trailer, honestly, don't go out of your way to see this. That said, it's not particularly bad. Just average.

C

It's genuinely scary and pretty faithful to the story, for most of it, until the numerous twists and false endings bog it down. Cusack is pretty good, as he manages to be a likeable leading man while also portraying his character's quick descent into madness, but Sam Jackson is wasted (unfortunately!), save for his one great line. The direction is impressive and adds to the terror, and the effects are solid without being too flashy. But the last half hour or so adds too many twists on top of one another, and the result is far from effective. It veers too far from the source material, and the ending is confusing in the worst way. Still, it's a fairly decent King adaptation, and I did find it scary.

I just got the 2disc DVD with the extended cut and the alternate ending. See how it compares to the theatrical which I think is the #1 horror film of the year. Cusack knows good horror films, this, Identity are both in my top 10 horror films of the last 10 years.

Got to say the extended cut with the alternate ending is very good. Surprising they didnt show this ending in theaters. Though the extended cut other than that isn't much different, its almost completely the same until Cusack goes into the vent, then theres new stuff here and there throughout and works pretty good.

Id say check out the new ending though, it works about the same if not better than the theatrical, and its very different.

I youtubed it. I do not prefer one ending over the other.

I like the mother hearing the little girl's voice as opposed to Samuel L Jackson, and their exchange at the funeral was a bit lame. The shot of the room afterwards was cool, but the stuff before makes it about on par with the theatrical ending.

It starts off well and actually manages to be creepy. But then it becomes over-the-top and CGI ghosts show up and all is ruined. It becomes way too weird for its own good and just lost my interest. Nice try, but it should have kept up the minimalist approach.

C

oh my god what a surprise this film was. Even with its very positive reviews, I was doubtful this would be a very good movie, as I've never been a big fan of horrors. But this is no modern-day horror. This is a film that, like Blair Witch Project, and like a Hitchcock film, plays with your more primal fears than a film like Friday the 13th, which plays off the fears we have learned to have. The ending gets a little crazy, but this film has such an awesome metaphorical subtext and such frightening style especially early on that I can surely say that this is one of the best horror films of the decade. Cusack was great.

A-

From the moment the ghost appear flying out the windows the movie completly died. It was boring, dumb and cheap.

C

B


I'm a sucker for Stephen King adaptations. The TV mini-series of IT is still one of the scariest movies I have ever seen (apart from the final 10 minutes or so) and I even liked Dreamcatcher a lot. So you can't imagine how excited I was to see that a new King adaptation was actually getting solid reviews.

That said, the movie turned out to be a minor letdown. It starts off perfectly well, setting the mood and introducing us to John Cusack's character with a fairly long exposition. That estabilishes Cusack's Enslin as an interesting character I cared for. Samuel L Jackson enters the scene - a great small role. Then we enter the evil room and the sense of creepiness can be felt...it's the point when the film starts its downwards spiral.

As mentioned many times before, all of the scares/money shots have been used in the trailer sadly. What remains is an atmospheric film with few actual scares or even creepy scenes. As time goes by, I started losing interest in the happenings. And don't even get me started on the ending...

I thought 1408 was a pleasant surprise. A lot of nice jumps and scares and some decent acting by Cusack and Samuel L Jackson. I like these types of horror movies so much more than the "torture porn" ones, like Saw and Hostel.

It did have a few minor flaws, such as the ending having a tacked on feel. For some reasons horror movies never seem to end right, and this wasn't terrible, but it didn't feel very satisfying, either. Also, it would have been nice to see more of Jackson. Lastly, I also think the setup and early suspense was much more effective then when the room went "balls to the wall" bad.

But, still... overall it was well done and very enjoyable. I'll go with a B

D

Terribly boring. Joan Cusack was terrible.

This did really well actually. 130mil worldwide on a 25mil budget. I'd be happy to see a sequel to this.