For a movie based on a Stephen King story, it is not too scary. It is pretty bloody, though. The language used is infrequent: about seven "sh**"s and one "f**k". The man drinks a lot in the film.
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1408
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 15. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Hotel room horror is more mental than physical.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 15–17
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About 1408
Parents need to know that this horror film is more about psychology than gore, though the main character, Mike, does sustain some bloody injuries from the various attacks on him (flying furniture, collapsing architecture, and more). He also suffers increasing emotional distress and irrationality, remembering both his young daughter, who died of a disease (scenes show the wasting girl and arguments between her parents), and his resentful, despairing, wheelchair-bound father. The nightmare-style narrative is illogical and sometimes disturbing, including ghosts, loud noises, jump scenes, and grotesque images of insects and bloody corpses. Mike drinks frequently and smokes once (very dramatically). Language includes one use of "f--k" and plenty of other words: "s--t," "ass," "bitch," etc.
Read our full review by Cynthia Fuchs
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about the enduring appeal of ghost stories and haunted house tales. Why are they so popular? Do you think strong emotions can continue to "occupy" a place? How does the movie make room 1408 seem scary before viewers even see the inside? How does Mike's past become part of the room's arsenal of disturbing imagery? Families can also discuss why people like being scared at the movies. What makes some horror movies better at accomplishing this than others?
Our Members Say
See all 38 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
Appropriate for teens and up; awesomely suspenseful!
- I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
A Very Good Psychological Horror Film
The film uses very little blood or gore in order to scare. The evil, yellow tinted hotel room that half the film takes place in becomes creepier and creepier as the film goes on. It truly is one of the best films made in recent years.
- I rate this title iffy for age 14 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
Graphic Stephen King ghost story for teens and up.
Parents should know that while this film is entertaining and exciting, it has very graphic violence including implied and partially shown suicides and gruesome injuries. Kids may be upset about the fact that the main character has separated from his wife and lost his daughter due to illness. There is some strong language and themes of smoking and drinking.
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
This movie is one of the best movies that I have seen. I like the original ending better because the main character didn't die.
- I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
nice ghost story
i enjoyed it
- I rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it
Pretty twisted/spooky thrillride was awesome!
Stephen King is a genius and also the most demented person on the planet to write such a breathtaking and heartpounding story. The movie's content: SEX: Mike flips on the TV and sees the pay-per-view order screen for a series of porn films. A painting shows a woman baring her breast to feed what appears to be a dead child on her lap. LANGUAGE: The f-word knocks once, while the s-word pounds 10 times. Other profanities include four or five uses each of "a--," "h---" and "d--n." "B--ch" and "b--tard" also show up. Jesus and God are both blasphemed, with God's name being mixed four times with the word "d--n." VIOLENCE: We catch quick glimpses of photographs of several blood-splattered dead bodies, along with a close-up of what appears to be someone's throat wound and a woman drowned in the bathtub.Several ghostly specters of previous suicide victims in the room jump out of its window. Mike's hand is smashed in the same window and then scalded by steam. He wraps the bleeding mitt in a cloth, but blood soaks through, streaking walls and furniture. Mike sees a vision of his daughter walking over broken plaster with bleeding feet. Later, he hugs her close to himself, and she dies in his arms and crumbles to ash. Mike is attacked by several ghoulish creatures (he kicks one, and its skull-like head crumbles). While the violence doesn't seem bad, the entire movie is so tense, it spooked even me a little - 'course, that could be because I stay in hotels a lot. I recommend an edited version, such as ClearPlay DVD player (clearplay.com) Watch this movie!
- I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
Great horror movie...
This is a fantastic movie! It's got a lot of suspense, and creepy stuff. But (unless discussion of suicides and a guy who gets his hand stuck in a window count) there's almost no true violence in the movie. Its entire focus is on the character's psychology. John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson do a great job with their roles, and manage to be cute and likeable. This is also probably the best example of horror drama I can name, though the movie is more of a drama than the Stephen King short story it's based on.
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
Lets just say it's my favorite movie!
This movie (to me) is not scary at all. The first time you watch it, it makes you jump a little, but nothing terrifying.I love it so much because it takes about two or three viewings to understand it. Then its AWESOME!!! The only bad thing about it is constant alchohol use and mild cursing.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
A Surprisingly Effective Horror Movie
This movie is definitely the first horror flick to watch if you are new to the horror genre. It is ten times better than One Missed Call, and the acting is so much better.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
Awsome movie
I loved this movie it is a beast
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
Cool Psychological Thriller
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
Good First Scary Movie...
This is a good first scary movie for teens because its not too scary, more like a thriller. And all these people saying that this movie has no plot and it dont make sense, here it is. He dies on the beach. 1408 representes hell, and his daughter is in heaven. Now watch the movie again knowing this.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
CoNfUsInG O.o
i didn't get this movie at all. it wasn't good - but it wasn't bad. there was no point at all to this movie. i am pretty easily scared and this movie wasn't scary at like all! i don't even think it was meant to be scary. you have to be really smart to understnad this one!
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
GOOD MOVIE!!!!
This movie was great i think tht a mature 12 could see this movie. It wasn't racy. the only thing was violence but it would not have been the same movie with out it.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
What makes this movie tick?
A lot of kids complained that it wasn't "scary". But here's the thing...the movie is like.. Saw, if you will. Just minus the gore. It makes you think. It makes you go, "Oh god, what would you do if you were in a room that would trap you forever after 50 minutes?" That is like Saw. You have a limited time to do something and LIVE. In the credits it mentions Stephen King had something to do with this. That's what I like about Stephen King, he makes you think. So this movie was really good.
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
OMG, this was a really good movie
*spoiler alert* 1408 is probably ok for kids ages 13 (at the youngest) and older. It's jam-packed with violence, and bad language is constantly used throughout the film. I'd think this movie would be way too scary for younger kids. It's extremely bloody, the protaganus at one point almost gets chopped in half because of the window and when the protaganus finally gets a chance to see his own kid who died, they crumple up and go all over the floor. Also, this movie has an unpredictable plot, because there would be points when you'd think the movie would be over...and it isn't. Overall, 1408 was awesome!
- I rate this title off for age 2 and give it
So amazingly bad! Why is this movie so popular?
Ok, this movie was a total waste of time. It's supposed to be scary. It wasn't scary in anyway. All this crap that happened was so dumb and didn't make sense and was just stupid and nothing was actual scary. And also they also tried to make it like the startling kind of scary too, trying to make you jump but i never even came close to jumping once and OMG it was just so bad!!
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
A good Movie.
A Thriller not a horror but a good Catholic meaning.
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
- I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it
1408
I thougt that this movie was an interesting failure. John Cusack is good, and it's smarter than most horror movies, but it just didn't quite work. It tries to be scary in an abstract and wierd way, sort of like The Shining, but the scares didn't partcularly work. I actually was laughing, just because some of the surreal parts struck me as very funny instead of disturbing. And I also didn't really like this movie's many false endings, after a while I just wanted it to end already. An interesting film, gets an 'A' for effort, but if you're looking for something suspenseful look elsewhere.
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