1408 (2007)

1408 is a 2007 American psychological horror film directed by Mikael Hafstrom, based on Stephen King's 1999 short story. John Cusack stars as Mike Enslin, a skeptical, cynical author of supernatural guidebooks who debunks haunted locations by staying in them and documenting the absence of actual ghosts. When he insists on staying in room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in Manhattan — a room that the hotel manager, played by Samuel L.

Jackson, desperately tries to dissuade him from entering, revealing that 56 people have died in it over decades — Mike discovers that 1408 is not merely haunted but is an actively malevolent space that manipulates reality itself to drive its occupants to suicide. John Cusack carried virtually the entire film as a solo performer trapped in a single hotel room, and his gradual disintegration from smug disbelief to abject terror was compelling. The room's attacks were psychological rather than physical — it replayed Mike's worst memories, created false escapes, and distorted time and space. 1408 earned $132 million worldwide on a $25 million budget.