Stephen King has almost more movie adaptations than any other author, but one of his masterpiece horror films remains underrated for one reason. King has been publishing books since Carrie in 1974, and that was turned into a movie just two years later. Since then, Stephen King has had a mᴀssive number of novels and short stories turned into films.

In 2007, one of his short stories was adapted into a film by director Mikael Håfström. This was a ghost story about a haunted H๏τel. While it isn’t up to the level of his haunted H๏τel masterpiece, The Shining, it is a masterpiece in its own right. However, it only works if viewers watch its alternate ending.

1408’s Alternate Ending Makes The Stephen King Movie A Terrifying Masterpiece

1408 is a ghost story following a paranormal investigator who sets out to debunk haunted sites. John Cusack is Mike Enslin, and while his goal is to debunk paranormal stories while also writing books about the phenomenon, his actual backstory is more tragic. He seeks proof of the afterlife through his investigations.

Mike’s daughter Katie died, and he has never gotten over that loss. Once Mike is in Room 1408 at The Dolphin H๏τel, he begins to realize there is a supernatural presence there. He starts to have visions of people who have died in the room, which he researches and discovers that 56 people who stayed there died in the room.

However, things get worse when he starts to see his ᴅᴇᴀᴅ daughter Katie and his terminally ill father. He tries to leave the room, but finds he is trapped there, and soon the forces of evil start to try to kill him. In the theatrical version, he lights the room on fire, and the firefighters save his life.

However, the alternate version is superior. In this ending, Mike dies in the room. This was the film’s original ending, but the director re-sH๏τ it after test screenings to give Mike a happy ending. However, the original ending is the one that makes this horror movie a great bit of storytelling and elevates the film to a masterpiece level.

In the ending where he dies, Mike realizes what is happening and sees that this H๏τel room feeds on trauma. As a result, he sacrifices himself by setting it on fire and dies in the room, destroying it and the curse as well.

In 1408’s ending, the H๏τel manager attends Mike’s funeral. After Mike’s estranged wife rejects his belongings, Olin sits in the car and listens to Mike’s recording from the room, and he hears the little girl’s voice. He then sees a man and a little girl walking off together in the cemetery, showing Mike’s sacrifice reuniting him with Katie.

The 1408 Theatrical Ending Lessens The Story’s Impact

The 1408 theatrical ending was made when test audiences felt that the original ending was a “downer,” and he made a happy ending for Mike. In the ending, after the firefighters save Mike’s life, he reunites with his estranged wife. That leads to a moment where Mike is listening to the tapes from the room.

His wife walks in while he is doing this and listens behind him, and they both hear, at the same time, their daughter Katie talking in the tape’s background. They look at each other, and his wife realizes that Mike was telling the truth about what happened in Room 1408. They both now know the afterlife exists.

The biggest problem is that Mike doesn’t deserve this happy ending. Mike spent so much time being bitter after his daughter’s death that it was destroying him. His marriage was already shattered, and this H๏τel incident shouldn’t have fixed that. This takes a dark horror movie and adds a happy ending that ruins the effect of the trauma.

Interestingly, the ending of Stephen King’s short story also had Mike live, but the room ruined him, and he never recovered. Even the “downer” ending of the movie saved him, and he reunited with his daughter. Destroying the room and getting his life back came across as an underwhelming outcome, making the film forgettable until the DVD came out.

There Were Actually Four Different 1408 Endings

When 1408 came out on home video, it gained a new life and much more appreciation from horror fans and Stephen King aficionados. That is primarily thanks to the alternate ending, with the home video versions making the main ending rather than the one shown in theaters.

However, on top of the original ending replacing the theatrical version’s neutered finale, there were four endings on the 1408 DVD and Blu-rays. Other than the original alternate ending and the theatrical ending, the other two were slight alterations to each of these.

In one ending, Mike lives like he did in the theatrical version and hears his daughter’s voice on the tape. However, in this ending, his wife doesn’t listen to the tape with him. They get back together, but she doesn’t hear the proof about their daughter’s spirit, leaving him as the only one with the revelation.

Finally, the fourth ending has Mike die, and this one goes to a different character rather than the funeral. Instead, Mike’s ex-wife and his agent, Sam, are going through his belongings. When Sam returns to his office, he finds the manuscript Miek was working on, and then he hears Mike’s father’s voice as his door slams closed.

This alternate ending made little sense concerning the themes of 1408, as Sam had little to no involvement in the plot. There was no reason the ghosts would come to him. 1408 remains a masterpiece of haunted, ghostly horror, thanks to Mike’s sacrifice, and the best ending was the afterlife reunion with his daughter. Nothing else worked.