31 DAYS OF HORROR: DAY 19

1408: DIRECTOR'S CUT

A man who specializes in debunking the paranormal checks in to room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel, a supposed haunted room where no one has lasted more than an hour before dying a grizzly death.

The DVD age has been a Godsend for film fans, but it can also be aggravating when situations like this arise. It's simple, 1408 was released in two versions, the theatrical cut, and the directors cut. Both are edited differently, have different scenes, and have different endings. One version of 1408 is a better ride, but the other has a better ending. So which one do you recommend? Which version is definitive? When a potentially great movie is directed my a studio hand who films a number of alternate scenes/sequences for the purpose of test screenings (cough HACK DIRECTOR cough), this is what happens.

Regardless, 1408 is very much a Stephen King story (a psychological thriller about a writer), and at times a very scary/beautiful one. With more thought (balls), this could have been classic, but it's worth a hearty recommendation.

*Ending the film with the Carpenters "We've Only Just Begun" was such an painfully obvious decision which also made sense within the story context, I still wonder why they didn't think of it.

BEST SCENE: After entering the room, Cusack's character is almost daring the room to do something creepy. After inspecting everything he opens the window and confidentially leans out when the window slams shut on his hand and the alarm clock radio begins playing "We've Only Just Begun" and begins counting down from 59:59. Oh yes.