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.
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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.
updated 10.15.08
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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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?
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Our Members Say
See all 36 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
Lives in ConnecticutI 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.
- Lives in IowaI 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.
- Lives in MinnesotaI rate this title on for age 12 and give it
nice ghost story
i enjoyed it
Lives in PennsylvaniaI rate this title iffy for age 15 and give itPretty 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!
- Lives in New JerseyI 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.
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