Although Stephen King is the undisputed King of horror, not all of his works, including their screen adaptations, get the appreciation they deserve. One such underrated gem is the 2007 psychological horror film directed by Swedish filmmaker Mikael Håfström and based on King’s 1999 short story. The acclaimed novelist reportedly first wrote the story’s opening pages for an appendix to his memoir, On Writing, as an example of how a story changes from one draft to the next and how he edits his work.
Starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, 1408 is a critically acclaimed adaptation that deserves way more attention. Released in the U.S. on June 22, 2007, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film earned critical praise and currently holds an 80% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 176 reviews. “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 consensus reads. It was also a box-office success, grossing US$20.6 million in its opening weekend and ultimately earning $133 million against a $25 million production budget.
Nearly two decades after its successful release, 1408 is officially getting a sequel. According to CBR, the sequel appears to be in early development, as movie scooper Daniel Richtman has confirmed. Cusack and Jackson are also said to be returning, with Håfström reportedly back to direct. No plot details have been shared yet, but since the original film had multiple alternate endings used across different versions, from theatrical release to DVD and streaming, fans can expect the sequel to pick up from any of them.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Is Your Biggest Horror Nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring
Four horror franchises. Four completely different ways of scaring you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure nobody believes you. One is already in your group of friends. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually watch horror, and find out which nightmare was built for you.
😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)
🧸Chucky(Child’s Play)
📞Scream(Ghostface)
🕯️The Conjuring(The Warren Files)
01
Which horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic images. One of them is worse than the others for you.
02
You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everybody has one. It arrives before you have decided anything.
03
Which horror movie rule would you break first? Everybody thinks they would survive. Almost nobody actually does.
04
Something genuinely frightening happens. What do you do? Not in a film. In your actual living room, tonight.
05
How do you actually watch a horror film? Be honest about this one. Nobody is checking.
06
Somebody offers you serious money. Which do you still refuse? The amount does not matter. There is one on this list you are not doing.
07
Which feeling stays with you a week after the film? Good horror does not stop when the credits do.
08
Something wakes you at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your nightmare.
The Lights Just Went Out Your Nightmare Is…
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath
your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what
it would leave behind.
A Nightmare on Elm Street · Since 1984
Elm Street
Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you
to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever
won that particular argument.
Freddy is horror’s cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot
guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your
own head is where this does its damage.
These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose
because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.
Child’s Play · Chucky · Since 1988
Chucky
Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the
person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.
Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you
describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You
know that feeling from real life too.
The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you
have met those adults.
By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.
Scream · Ghostface · Since 1996
Scream
Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost
certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be
somebody who was at the party.
You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the
same way you watch films.
The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are
the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.
The Conjuring · The Warren Files · Since 2013
The Conjuring
Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people
asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.
The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary
room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than
personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are
the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one
standing in the hallway.
‘1408’ Is the Stephen King Adaptation You Need for Halloween
In 1408, Cusack plays Mike Enslin, a successful, cynical author of niche books about supernatural events, despite not believing in them. While promoting his latest book in Hermosa Beach, California, he receives an anonymous postcard showing The Dolphin, a New York City hotel, with the message: “Don’t enter 1408.” Taking it as a challenge, Mike heads to The Dolphin and requests room 1408. Hotel manager Gerald Olin, played by Jackson, tries to dissuade him but fails. Ignoring Olin’s warnings, Mike soon discovers what real terror feels like when he spends the night in the supposedly haunted room.
1408 streams for free on Tubi and Fawesome. Follow Collider for more updates about the sequel.
