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faerietalegoddess · 20th July 2007, 08:35 AM

I've read the story many times and went to the movies to see the adaptation when it first came out, and I really wasn't a big fan of it.

It's sad that with Hollywood movies, there always has to be a plot and the protagonist must usually always have a tortured past and, of course, sometimes they have to slip in a sneaky little ending, just to try to get you thinking. Unfortunately, I don't think that style worked well for 1408.

Personally, I thought the story, as it was, would've made a great little film, without having to add in the rest of the fodder. The story was creepy enough and I think they could've found ways to keep the audience guessing just with the "Oh my gods, will he get out?!" factor, or the "Wow, what is this thing and why is it so evil?" thought process. But because of a story that just kept going on and on and on (sort of like this comment), I just felt that it was dragged out and when they got to the fake "it was only a dream!" portion, I was willing to suffocate myself in my popcorn. I also didn't think that it caught the psychological factor well enough...the Mike Enslin in the short story was completely terrorized by this thing in the room. And in the story, the thing in that room was a heck of a lot more evil than portrayed in the movie, in my opinion.

I'll stick with "The Shining", "The Stand", and "Secret Window" for my fill of Stephen King-based movies. They chose some great actors for the parts of Mike Enslin and the Hotel Manager, but it was just far too overblown a movie for something that was really a simple, but effectively scary, story.

20th July 2007, 08:35 AM	#3 (permalink)
faerietalegoddess Always Ego Tripping Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 18	Re: 1408 movie adaption I've read the story many times and went to the movies to see the adaptation when it first came out, and I really wasn't a big fan of it. It's sad that with Hollywood movies, there always has to be a plot and the protagonist must usually always have a tortured past and, of course, sometimes they have to slip in a sneaky little ending, just to try to get you thinking. Unfortunately, I don't think that style worked well for 1408. Personally, I thought the story, as it was, would've made a great little film, without having to add in the rest of the fodder. The story was creepy enough and I think they could've found ways to keep the audience guessing just with the "Oh my gods, will he get out?!" factor, or the "Wow, what is this thing and why is it so evil?" thought process. But because of a story that just kept going on and on and on (sort of like this comment), I just felt that it was dragged out and when they got to the fake "it was only a dream!" portion, I was willing to suffocate myself in my popcorn. I also didn't think that it caught the psychological factor well enough...the Mike Enslin in the short story was completely terrorized by this thing in the room. And in the story, the thing in that room was a heck of a lot more evil than portrayed in the movie, in my opinion. I'll stick with "The Shining", "The Stand", and "Secret Window" for my fill of Stephen King-based movies. They chose some great actors for the parts of Mike Enslin and the Hotel Manager, but it was just far too overblown a movie for something that was really a simple, but effectively scary, story.