1408 (2007)
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Limited Edition 3D Lenticular Hardcase + Art Cards
Label: Via Vision Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: M
Duration: 104 Minutes 25 Seconds (Theatrical), 112 Minutes 32 Seconds (Blu-ray)
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1, UHD Theatrical), TrueHD 7.1 (UHD, Director's Cut), DTS-HD 5.1 Surround / 5.1 Dolby TrueHD / 5.1 Dolby Digital (Blu-ray Theatrical), English DTS-HD 5.1 Surround / 5.1 Dolby TrueHD / 5.1 Dolby Digital (Blu-ray Director's Cut) with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.39:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Mikael Håfström
Cast: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub
1408 (2007) is directed by Mikael Håfström (Escape Plan), based on a story by Stephen King, starring John Cusack (Better Off Dead) as author Mike Enslin, who writes books about the paranormal, with titles like Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Houses, Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Graveyards, and Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Castles. He comes off as a cynical skeptic with no real love for the occult or the supernatural, but who ekes out a decent living turning in such boiler plate books to his editor Sam Farrell (Tony Shalhoub, Thir13en Ghosts). The latest book he is writing is Ten Nights in Ten Haunted Hotel Rooms, with the author touring the country and writing up each of his experiences at so-called haunted hotels, which usually just happen to be off the beaten path, aways from the interstates, and coincidentally hungry for business. We learn that his life is less than ideal, he lost his daughter Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony) to a terminal illness, and has become withdrawn, estranged from his wife Lily (Mary McCormack, Right At Your Door) who lives in NYC while Mike lives on the West Coast. The death of his daughter fuels his cynical non-belief in life-after-death and ghosts.
One day while checking his mail he received an anonymous postcard with a picture of the historic Dolphin Hotel in NYC, aside from the postmark the only other writing is the message "Don't enter 1408". Challenge excepted, Mike flies to NYC and attempts to check in to room 1408, but is intercepted by the hotel's manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction) who spiritedly attempts to dissuade Enslin from staying in that particular room, rattling off macabre stats about the room like the 56 deaths that occurred there, the way that the rooms is cleaned like it's a high security prison, and how one of the maid who was trapped in the bathroom momentarily gouged her eyes out while laughing, and noting that no one has ever last longer than an hour in the room. Despite Olin impassioned protestations and attempt to bribe him with a bottle of well-aged "Les Cinquant Sept Décès" wine, a clever eater eggs there, and he ends up handing the room key for 1408 to Enslin. Properly warned but undeterred Enslin enter the room with his micro-cassette recorder and beings making his observations, starting by noting that Olin's attempt to dissuade him was quite effective, that his is actually "rattled but undeterred", while also noting that the room was quite ordinary looking.
Only a few minutes into his stay the radio pops on playing The Carpenter's appropriately haunting pop-song "We've Only Just Begun" and the supernatural shit hits the proverbial fan, beginning with the window of the room slamming shut on his hand, bloodying it, the bathroom sink starts spraying scalding hot water, and small things are amiss, a toilet paper roll he pulls a swatch of tissue from appears untouched moments later, and pillow chocolates suddenly appear on the bed. The digital clock radio suddenly changes to a 60:00 minute countdown clock - oh shit, we are in it now.
What transpires is an effectively haunting time-loop, with mike reliving personal tragedies, and seemingly movie-like images of the deaths that have occurred in the room, It's not so much a traditional ghostly happening as it is that the room is a malevolent evil, toying with it's latest occupant mind, using his traumatic past against, there's even a doppelgänger that attempts to pull his estranged wife into 1408's grasp. There are some effective flashbacks to his past with his wife, daughter and terminally ill father, that inform his bitter skepticism and lack of faith, adding depth to the haunting.
Most of the film is a single location, set in 1408, but the film has some cool visuals effects, practical and digital, the feature mike falling into a painting of a ship at sea during a storm, and then turning the room into a sub-zero inner circle of Hell, so it does good work keeping things interesting, there are melting phones, malfunction A/C, and Mike ends up out the window and hanging precariously from the exterior ledge of the building, or up inside the A/C vents where he finds a mummified corpse. It's a fun watch, and I thought the psychological horror of it with the malevolent room toying with Mike to well executed, The best scene hands down is Olin and Enslin in Olin's office as they have a back and forth about the room earlier, it's well-written and exquisitely acted, and sets up the rest of the film rather wonderfully.
This 4-disc set features both the Theatrical Cut and the longer Director's Cut, in HD and UHD, and for my money the longer cut is the way to go, it's the superior version. I remember watching the Theatrical cut at the cinema and being pretty lukewarm on it, but then when the DVD released and we had the option to to view the director's cut I was more fond of it, I feel it has more emotional depth, it's a bit more visceral and I feel the finale and what transpires has more emotional impact to it.
Audio/Video: 1408 (2007) looks stunning in 4k Ultra HD from Via Vision Entertainment, licensed from Lionsgate. I didn't a see any verbiage about the transfer with this release, but the 2160p Ultra HD presentation is a banger, benefitting from Dolby Vision (HDR10) - Dolby Vision upgrades, offering both the Theatrical Cut and Director's Cut in 2.39:1 widescreen. The sources looks terrific, film grain is uniform and tight-knit, with pleasing detail and textures throughout. The UHD's WCG color-grade is probably the biggest uptick for me, the 4K resolution is nice, and there are some better resolved details that can be discerned, but this is a heavily filtered film, and I think it's a little harder to appreciate the 4K resolution when we have a lot of filtering. The Dolby Vision upgrade is gorgeous, colors have deeper more nuanced hues, the blacks are inky and the whites are crisp throughout. When we get some colored lighting and golden cast of the room 1408 you can see the improvements. I could not discern much of a noticeable difference in the video quality between the two cuts.
Audio options vary between the two versions, the Theatrical Cut get a remixed Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1), Dolby TrueHD 5.1, while the Director's Cut is slighted a Dolby Atmos remix, but we do get a solid Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with optional English subtitles. The Atmos surround track is nicely immersive with discreet use of the surrounds and heigh channels, not only spreading out the terrific score by Gabriel Yared (Cold Mountain), but some eerie sound design and supernatural shenanigans in the room 1408 that are quite effective. I give the edge to the Atmos track, but I found both the DTS 5.1 and True HD 5.1/7.1 to be quite effective as well.
This edition comes fully loaded with archrival's extras, we get the audio commentary, alternate ending, deleted scenes, featurettes, webisodes, trailers, plus the brand new 22-min Don't Enter 1408 with director Mikael Håfström.
The 4-disc UHD/BD arrive in an oversized black keep case with a flipper tray housing the discs, the wrap in 2-sided non-reversible, with the theatrical poster artwork on the front, and the reverse side featuring an image from the fil, which seems odd considering it's a black keepcase and no clear. This comes housed inside a sideloading 3-D Lenticular Hardcase which looks haunting as Hell, I love it. I also love the large 1408 title treatment n the side of the slipcase, this things has some nice shelf appeal. Furthermore, tucked away inside are six Art Cards featuring images from the film which come housed inside a glossy envelope with an excerpt of the key artwork for the film. This set is limited to just 2000 editions, so act quick if you want one.
Special Features:
Disc One: 4K UHD - Theatrical Cut (1:44:25)
- Dolby Vision and HDR10 presentation of the Theatrical Cut on 4K UHD
- Don’t Enter 1408 (21:58)
Disc Two: 4K UHD - Director’s Cut (1:52:32)
- Dolby Vision and HDR10 presentation of the Director’s Cut on 4K UHD
- Audio commentary by director Mikael Håfström and writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
- Alternate Endings (10:39)
- Deleted Scenes (11:23) with optional commentary by Mikael Håfström, Scott Alexander and Larray Karaszewski.
- The Secrets of 1408 (22:56)
- John Cusack on 1408 - A Webisode (2:33)
- Inside Room 1408 - A Webisode (2:07)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:33)
- Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
- Audio: English Dolby TrueHD
Disc Three: Blu-ray - Theatrical Cut (104 min)
- 1080p High-definition presentation of the Theatrical Cut on Blu-ray
- Alternate Endings (10:39)
- Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by director Mikael Håfström and writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (11:23)
- The Secrets of 1408 (22:56)
- John Cusack on 1408 - A Webisode (2:33)
- Inside Room 1408 - A Webisode (2:07)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:33)
Disc Four: Blu-ray - Director’s Cut (112 min)
- 1080p High-definition presentation of the Director’s Cut on Blu-ray
- Audio commentary by director Mikael Håfström and writers Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
- 1408: The Premiere – vintage featurette (5:43)
1408 (2007) is an effectively atmospheric and chilling frightener, and one of the better Stephen King adaptations of this era in my estimation. An old school supernatural frightener that is quite well-done, with a terrific main cast and solid direction, plus we get cool visual effects that have held up quite well nearly 20 years later, thanks in large part to the productions reliance on practical effects and set design whenever possible. Via Vision Entertainment's 4-disc Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray looks and sounds terrific, is loaded with extras, and the 3-D Lenticular Hardcase packaging is top-notch. The set is limited to 2000 copies, and is available to purchase directly from Via Vision Entertainment HERE.
Screenshots from the Via Vision Blu-ray:
