1408 Script - Dialogue Transcript

Voila! Finally, the 1408 script is here for all you fans of the Stephen King movie featuring John Cusack and Sam Jackson. This puppy is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of the movie to get the dialogue. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and all that jazz, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop me a line. At least you'll have some 1408 quotes (or even a monologue or two) to annoy your coworkers with in the meantime, right?

And swing on back to Drew's Script-O-Rama afterwards -- because reading is good for your noodle. Better than Farmville, anyway.

1408 Script


...reckless sinful
way throughout this life.

  
The Lord has told me

  
that the open
gates of Hell

  
are yawning up
widely in our path.

  
Yes, the flames

  
of perpetual damnation

  
are ever ready to grasp
our souls.

  
We know the way
of the righteous man.

  
Yeah, we know the prayer

  
of the righteous man.

  
I'm telling you
that the Lord has spoken.

  
Yes, the Lord has spoken
to me.

  
Hi.

  
Mike Enslin.
Checking in.

  
Honey.
Mr. Enslin.

  
We were afraid you
weren't going to show.

  
Oh it's such an honor
to have you here.

  
- Terrible night out there.
- If I could just get the key,

  
I'll settle in and we can
talk in the morning after...

  
You probably want to hear
all about our haunted history.

  
Well, this staircase here,
this is where the maid

  
reputedly hung herself
in 1860.

  
- Oh.
- There's a picture!

  
- Can we do this in the morning?
- Wait wait.

  
It's printed in
our brochure.

  
- Did we send you one of these?
- Uh, probably did.

  
- Do you see her in the window?
- Yeah, there she is.

  
That's a photo that
a guest took in 1986.

  
In your letter
you mentioned that the rooms

  
with the most
paranormal activity

  
were in the attic.
Could I have one of those rooms?

  
That's right, because the attic
is on the third floor

  
which is the former
servant's quarters.

  
People say that all
of Sylvia's children

  
died up there
of tuberculosis.

  
- All of them?
- Guests have reported strange sounds.

  
At the stroke of midnight
there's been weird noises.

  
Now our best advice
is to lock your door from the inside.

  
- Isn't that right, honey?
- That's right.

  
You take care, you just
lock it from the inside.

  
I will.

  
As soon as you
give me the key.

  
I'm so... right.
Got it right here.

  
- Number 14, you can't miss it.
- Been a long drive.

  
- Good luck.
- All right, we'll see

  
what the night brings.

  
Mrs. Clark, the proprietor,

  
says she hasn't
slept a night

  
since acquiring the inn
and I believe her.

  
No no no,
I pity her.

  
But in any case, the eggs
Benedict are delicious

  
and if you call in advance,
Mrs. Clark says

  
she will bake her famous
flourless chocolate cake.

  
On a Shiver Scale, I award the Weeping
Beach Inn six skulls.

  
Screw 'em, five skulls.

  
- Hi.
- Oh hey.

  
How's it going?
Can I help you?

  
Yeah, I'm here
for the big event.

  
All right.
Cool.

  
I'm Mike Enslin.

  
Sorry?

  
- Book signing.
- Oh, right.

  
Oh, that's you, yeah.
I see the resemblance, yeah.

  
- That's a good picture.
- Thanks, man.

  
All right, hold on.

  
Um... attention,
book lovers.

  
Tonight we have noted
occult writer

  
Michael Enslin

  
at the Author's Corner
tonight.

  
He's the writer of the best-selling
ghost survival guides,

  
um... with such titles
as "10 Haunted Hotels,"

  
"10 Haunted Graveyards,"

  
"10 Haunted Lighthouses. "

  
That's tonight, 7:00 pm.

  
Anyway, so I really
enjoyed writing it,

  
and that's kind of
a history of the book.

  
And I hope you enjoy it,
or enjoyed it.

  
Uh, you know,
stay scared.

  
Right?
Any questions?

  
Where's the scariest place
you've ever been?

  
Scariest place
I've ever been?

  
Uh, I've never heard
that question before.

  
That's a joke.

  
Well, all these places have
very colorful histories.

  
Um...

  
I would say, if I had to
pick a top one,

  
I would say
Bar Harbor,

  
the site of the grisly
McTeig wedding night murders.

  
That's an intense place.
Or maybe St. Cloud, Minnesota,

  
where the crazed war widow
threw her baby down a well.

  
I mean, those all have a lot
of... I mean, it's thick.

  
- The air is thick.
- What about poltergeists?

  
Look, I'm a good researcher.
I go into every gig locked and loaded.

  
I travel with an EMF meter,
full-range spectrometer,

  
infrared camera. I mean, look,
nothing would make me happier

  
than to experience
a paranormal event,

  
you know, to get a glimpse
of the elusive light

  
at the end of the tunnel.

  
So you're saying there's
no such thing as ghosts?

  
I'm saying
I've never seen one,

  
but they're awful convenient
for desperate hotels

  
when the interstate moves away.

  
This thing has really
gone off the rails. Who has a pen?

  
- I do.
- Which one?

  
Uh, but seriously, Mike,
if I want to see a real live ghost,

  
where's my best bet?

  
- Guaranteed?
- Yeah.

  
Haunted Mansion,
Orlando.

  
Awesome, thanks.

  
- Stay scared.
- Thank you.

  
Hey, Ray, can you lock up?

  
I got band practice tonight.

  
Holy shit.

  
What rock did you
find that under?

  
- Um, eBay.
- eBay, huh?

  
How much did it go for?

  
Well, there weren't
many bidders.

  
I would think not.

  
- Wow.
- But it's, um...

  
- an amazing book.
- Oh.

  
Um, so... unique

  
and inspirational
and honest.

  
Thanks.
What's your name?

  
- Um, Anna.
- Okay, Anna.

  
Are you gonna write another
one like this one?

  
Nah, it's
a different guy.

  
Um...

  
- can I ask you a question?
- Sure.

  
Um, the relationship
in the book

  
with the father and the son...
it's probably too personal,

  
- but, um, it's so authentic and...
- Mm-hm.

  
well-constructed,
and...

  
is it true?

  
No.

  
Well, thank you for this.
I really appreciate it.

  
My pleasure.

  
Bye.

  
Good boy!
Yo, homey...

  
Just a minute, Tiffany!

  
Yeah, I'm just gonna tie it
inside my suit here.

  
Yo, Greg, check him out!

  
Did you see what happened?

  
Oh yeah.

  
Are you okay, buddy?

  
Hey, are you breathing?

  
No!
Serious as a heart attack.

  
We got 325.
That is back here, I think.

  
Uh-huh.

  
This is the one.
Sign on the line, please, sir.

  
Oh, you mean
right here?

  
- Have yourself a beautiful day.
- Thank you.

  
- Thank you very much.
- Hey, man, you've been gone a while.

  
- Hey, Jackson, what's up?
- Oh by the way, dude,

  
I read your last book...
the "10 Haunted Mansions" thing.

  
Man, that's some
scary shit.

  
Cool.

  
Later on, dude.

  
- Hi.
- Hi, how you doing?

  
- Hi.
- Good.

  
Thanks.

  
That's cute.

  
Good evening,
Dolphin Hotel.

  
How might I direct
your call?

  
Yeah, hi, I'm calling about room 1408.

  
One moment please, sir.

  
How may I help you?

  
Yeah, I'd like to stay in
room 1408 please.

  
That room is
unavailable, sir.

  
I didn't tell you
which date.

  
How about Saturday?

  
It's unavailable.

  
The following Tuesday?

  
Unavailable.

  
Next month?

  
Unavailable.

  
Next summer?

  
Somebody, anybody,
where's good Chinese near 48th?

  
I got to have lunch with
that idiot from Random House. Anybody?

  
Sam, Mike Enslin calling
from Los Angeles again.

  
I'll take it in there.

  
Clay, you got a sec for
Mike Enslin?

  
- Say yes.
- Yes.

  
Great. Now look, this guy
tends to get a little morose,

  
so try to keep the energy up.
Otherwise he stews in his own funk.

  
- Mike!
Hey, Sam.

  
Hey hey, read the first
five chapters last night.

  
Spooky shit,
couldn't sleep a wink.

  
Great. Hey, did you take care
of that thing?

  
You'd better believe I did.
And I got our top lawyer here right now.

  
Mike, Clay,
Clay, Mike.

  
- Hi, Clay.
- Mike.

  
Talk fast, all right?
This guy's $400 an hour.

  
All right, Clay,
what's up with the Dolphin?

  
Yeah, the Dolphin.

  
That stick-up-its-ass
relic on Lexington.

  
Too posh for
a free plug, right?

  
Well, you are gonna love
what Clay's cooked up.

  
He dug around and found you...
are you sitting down?

  
- a Federal
Civil Rights law.

  
Like somebody would
discriminate against you,

  
a well-to-do white guy.
But the law's the law, right, Clay?

  
Ergo, if the room's
not occupied

  
- they have to give it to you.
- Really?

  
Yeah. Now look, the manager there's
gonna put up a stink

  
but he knows the drill.

  
- Nothing you can't handle.
- So, Mike...

  
we'll book the room
and if they refuse

  
we'll rattle our sabers
and file suit.

  
- So it's all done?
- Thanks, Clay. Get lost, all right?

  
Bye, Clay.

  
Yeah, Mike,
are you there?

  
Yeah, uh, on a more
personal note,

  
are you sure
you want to come here?

  
Yeah, of course. It'll make a solid
closing chapter of the book.

  
Yeah yeah,
I know the routine.

  
But, I mean,
it's New York.

  
All that happened... you really want
to put yourself through that?

  
- I'll be quick.
- Are you gonna call Lily?

  
No.
I don't want to impose.

  
In and out.
Nobody gets hurt.

  
It's just a job.

  
Here you are, Dolphin.

  
Hey! Taxi!

  
It's a beautiful room,
with fabulous views of the city.

  
Pardon me, ladies.

  
Thanks very much.

  
Welcome to
the Dolphin, sir.

  
- Are you checking in?
- Mike Enslin.

  
One night.

  
And how are we
spelling that today?

  
- N-S-L-I-N?
- N-S-L-I-N.

  
Yeah.

  
Uh, would you excuse me
for a moment, sir?

  
Sure.

  
Mr. Dempsey, Mike Enslin's
just checked in.

  
- Where is he?
- He's over at my desk.

  
That's fine, Marie.
I'll take care of it.

  
Okay.

  
It'll just be a minute,
Mr. Enslin.

  
Good evening, sir.
Can I help you with your bag?

  
- No.
- Very well.

  
Mr. Enslin,
I'm Gerald Olin,

  
manager of
the Dolphin.

  
If there's anything that I can do
for you while you're here...

  
dinner reservations,
theater tickets,

  
maybe a Knicks game?
Anything...

  
just tell me.
I am at your service.

  
Well, if I can just get the key to 1408,
I can get out of your hair.

  
Oh, we were thinking
of upgrading you to a penthouse suite.

  
1408, please.

  
Insistent,
aren't we?

  
Could you please
humor me

  
by coming to my office for a more
private conversation?

  
- Sure.
- Excellent.

  
Come in.
Make yourself comfortable.

  
1408 a smoking room?

  
As a matter of fact,
it is. Yes.

  
Good, one less worry in
the watches of the night.

  
Care for a cigar?

  
No thank you,
I don't smoke.

  
Oh this, yeah.
That's...

  
in case nuclear war
breaks out.

  
I gave it up
a long time ago.

  
It's part habit,
part superstition.

  
It's, you know,
a writer thing.

  
You do drink,
don't you?

  
Of course, I just said
I was a writer.

  
Le Cinquante Sept
Deces, 1939.

  
Exquisite.

  
About $800 a bottle,
when you can find it.

  
I appreciate the bribe,
but I intend on staying in that room.

  
- How long?
- How long?

  
My usual is
overnight.

  
I see.

  
No one's ever lasted
more than an hour.

  
Jesus, man.

  
You ought to shave your eyebrows
and paint your hair gold

  
if you're gonna try
to sell that spookhouse bullshit.

  
Otherwise, you'll
scare the children.

  
Why are you mocking me
when I am genuinely,

  
to the best of my ability,
trying to help you?

  
No, you're playing
a little game.

  
You're selling
the mystique.

  
But eventually,
we both know

  
you're gonna give me the key
and I'm gonna go up to the room

  
and I'm gonna write my story
and your bookings are gonna go up 50%.

  
Do you mind if my little friend records
our conversation?

  
I'll take that as a yes.

  
Sir, you quite
misunderstand the situation.

  
Now, I know the Dolphin
doesn't have the cachet of the Plaza

  
or the Carlyle,

  
but we operate
at 90% capacity.

  
Always.

  
And my concern here
is not for the hotel.

  
My concern here
is not for you.

  
Frankly, selfishly,

  
I don't want you
to check into 
  
because I don't want
to clean up the mess.

  
Now hotels are all
about presentation

  
and fertile
creature comforts.

  
My training is
as a manager,

  
not a coroner.

  
Under my watch there have
been four deaths... four.

  
After the last one,
I forbade any guest

  
from checking
into 1408 ever again.

  
The last one was David Hide,
orthodontist, manic-depressive.

  
Slit his wrist,
did a little self-surgery,

  
turned himself into
a eunuch, right?

  
Yes. So you've
done your homework.

  
I'm a professional too.

  
Well, grievously, in its
95-year existence,

  
the hotel has seen
seven jumpers,

  
four overdoses,
five hangings,

  
- three mutilations...
- Three mutilations...

  
two stranglings.
General manager Gerald Olin

  
is well-versed in
the hotel's tragic history,

  
dryly reciting the docket
of carnage like a bookkeeper

  
discussing his ledger.

  
Well, you think
you're clever, don't you?

  
I know the game.

  
Well, during
your investigation,

  
did you discover
the 22 natural deaths

  
that have occurred
in 1408?

  
Natural deaths?

  
Ah, didn't find out
about them

  
because the newspapers don't
print anything about them.

  
Hmm. All told,
there have been 56 deaths

  
in 1408.

  
56?
You're shitting me.

  
You don't know anything.

  
The causes of death
in 1408 range

  
from heart attack,
stroke, drowning...

  
- Drowning?
- Yes, one Mr. Grady Miller

  
drowned
in his chicken soup.

  
That's hard to do.
How... how did he do that?

  
How indeed?

  
Interesting.
It's all in here.

  
I will let you have this
and give you access to my office.

  
You can take notes,
put it all in your book.

  
My only condition

  
is that you do not
stay in that room.

  
You'll let me look
at all that stuff?

  
Hmm.

  
I never did
get that drink.

  
- Oh, that is good.
- Here, keep it.

  
Compliments
of the house.

  
- I'm still staying.
- Damn it to hell!

  
I'm sorry.

  
All right here.
Here, read the godforsaken thing.

  
I guarantee you,
once you've read it

  
you won't want to stay
in 1408.

  
Mr. Kevin O'Malley,

  
sewing machine salesman.

  
Checked into the hotel
the first week it opened...

  
- October, 1912.
- Cut his own throat, right?

  
Oh, that's not
the horrific part.

  
Afterwards, in a fit
of insanity,

  
he tried to stitch
himself back together

  
using an old sewing needle
before he bled to death.

  
Easy, man.

  
Look, Mr. Enslin,
you don't have to stay in 1408.

  
You can take
photographs of 1404.

  
It has the exact same layout and no one
will ever know the difference.

  
- My readers expect the truth.
- Your readers?

  
Your readers expect
grotesqueries

  
and cheap thrills.

  
"The headless ghost
of Mr. Eugene Rilsby

  
still walks
his abandoned farmhouse. "

  
"The Barking Phantom
of Mount Hope Cemetery. "

  
A direct quote...
how'd you know that?

  
Your books aren't
hard to find.

  
They're on the bargain
shelves

  
of any paperback
novel store;

  
full of cynicism,
written by a talented, intelligent man

  
who doesn't believe
in anything or anyone but himself.

  
Guilty as charged.

  
Hey listen, this meeting's over.
Why don't you give me the room?

  
Oh please, don't act
like a hurt schoolgirl.

  
- In fact, you surprised me.
- Oh.

  
You are not
the hack-n-slash I expected.

  
I rather liked the first one,
the hardcover.

  
What was it called?
"The Last Walk... "

  
"Long Road Home. "

  
"The Long Road Home,"
yes.

  
I rather thought
the father was a bastard.

  
Yeah, he was.

  
Um...

  
look man, just
give me the key.

  
- Mr. Enslin...
- Just give me the key!

  
Listen, I stayed
at the Bigsby house.

  
I brushed my goddamn teeth
right next to the tub

  
where Sir David Smith
drowned his whole family.

  
And I stopped being afraid
of vampires when I was 12.

  
Do you know why I can stay
in your spooky old room, Mr. Olin?

  
Because I know that
ghoulies and ghosties

  
and long-legged beasties
don't exist.

  
Even if they did,

  
there's no God to protect
us from them, is there?

  
So I can't talk you
out of this?

  
I think we've reached
an understanding.

  
Very well.

  
Come with me.

  
Most hotels have
switched to magnetics.

  
An actual key.
That's a nice touch... it's antiquey.

  
We have magnetic cards also, but
electronics don't seem to work in 1408.

  
Hope you don't have
a pacemaker.

  
General manager claims that the phantom
in room interferes...

  
I have never used
the word "phantom. "

  
Oh, I'm sorry.
Spirit? Specter?

  
No, you misunderstand.

  
Whatever's in is nothing like that.

  
Then what is it?

  
It's an evil
fucking room.

  
Please.

  
Mr. Odin.

  
Oh, oui.
Tres bien.

  
Why don't the owners
just close the room?

  
The Yasuko Corporation
prefers to pretend there's no problem.

  
Just as they pretend
there's no 13th floor.

  
The room,
it's got to be filthy.

  
I mean, the sheets haven't been changed
in what? 11 years?

  
No no no,
we're very professional.

  
1408 gets a light
turn once a month.

  
I supervise, the maids
work in pairs.

  
We treat the room
as if it's a chamber

  
filled with poison gas.

  
We only stay 10 minutes
and I insist the door remain open.

  
But still...

  
A few years ago, a young
maid from El Salvador

  
found herself locked
in the bathroom.

  
She was only there
for a few moments,

  
but when we pulled
her out, she was...

  
- She was dead.
- No, blind.

  
She had taken a pair
of scissors

  
and gouged
her eyes out.

  
She was laughing hysterically.

  
- Ouch.
- Your floor.

  
Well, this is where
we part company.

  
This is as close
as I get to 
  
unless it's that time
of the month.

  
- See you tomorrow.
- Mr. Enslin?

  
Please...

  
don't do this.

  
I'll call you about
those Knicks tickets.

  
Stop it!

  
Okay. It's okay, sweetie.
We're home now.

  
Here we go.

  
This is it?

  
You got to be kidding me.

  
Round one goes to the hideous Mr. Olin
for effective aggressiveness.

  
I have to admit,
he had me going for a moment.

  
But where is
the bone-chilling terror?

  
Show me the rivers
of blood.

  
It's just a room.

  
$8 for beer nuts.

  
This room is evil.

  
Olin said hotels are about
fertile creature comforts.

  
It's a good line,
but I wonder

  
whether they're really
about reassuring platitudes,

  
a prosaic sense
of the familiar.

  
"Yes, I've
been here before.

  
It's safe. "

  
There's a sofa,

  
a writing desk,
a faux antique armoire,

  
floral wallpaper.

  
Carpet's unremarkable,
except for a stain

  
beneath a thrift-store painting
of a schooner lost at sea.

  
The work is done in the
predictably dull fashion

  
of Currier & Ives.

  
The second painting
is of an old woman

  
reading bedtime stories...
a Whistler knockoff...

  
to a group
of deranged children

  
as another Madonna and child
watch from the background.

  
It does have
the vague air of menace.

  
The third and final
painfully dull painting

  
is the ever-popular
"The Hunt. "

  
Horses, hounds
and constipated British lords.

  
Some smartass spoke about
the banality of evil.

  
If that's true,

  
then we're in
the seventh circle of Hell.

  
It does have
its charms.

  
The panorama is typically cramped
New York City view of nothing:

  
Dull, grey
buildings all around;

  
Honking traffic below.
The view of a...

  
Bravo, Olin.
That is very unsettling.

  
That means
someone's in the room.

  
Hello?

  
Hello!

  
Whoa.

  
That is bizarre.

  
Finally I got
something to write about.

  
A ghost that offers
turn-down service.

  
All right.

  
All right, let's Encyclopedia
Brown this bitch.

  
Started off the window,

  
hear the music,
nab my head.

  
I turn around, go to
the bed for the chocolate.

  
Then I go into the closet
which would have...

  
my back was turned.
It would have let

  
Houdini have time to come in
here do the paper trick...

  
and he's in the living room.

  
Out!

  
Huh.

  
Hello?

  
You're gonna have to
try harder, asshole!

  
Nice and warm
for you up there?

  
It's hot down here,
bubba.

  
Come on.

  
Front desk.
- Hello, this is Mike Enslin.

  
- Guess which room.
- Good evening, sir.

  
- Good evening.
- Are you ready to check out?

  
Check out?
No no no no no.

  
Check out, check out, no.
Why would I check out?

  
Especially with this wonderful
maid service. It's so discreet.

  
No no no, I need you to send somebody
to fix my thermostat.

  
- Room's on fire.
- Of course, sir.

  
We'll send an engineer
right up.

  
- You will?
- Absolutely.

  
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

  
How many thin walls

  
have we put up
with together,

  
old boy?

  
How many sarcophagal chambers?

  
Hotel rooms are a naturally
creepy place...

  
don't you think?

  
I mean, how many people
have slept in that bed before you?

  
How many of them
were sick?

  
How many of them
lost their minds?

  
How many of them... died?

  
We came here
to get the story,

  
and we don't rattle,
do we?

  
It's not that what
I'm seeing is not real.

  
It just ain't as real
as it seems.

  
Hello?

  
You got a problem
with the temperature?

  
Yeah.

  
Come on.

  
Is it too hot
or too cold?

  
What does it look like?

  
Come on in.

  
The box is
right over here.

  
It's stuck around 80.

  
I said the box
is right here.

  
I know where the hell it is,
but I ain't going in this room.

  
You just have to walk
six or seven feet.

  
I said I ain't going in.
You know what happened in here?

  
Yes, I'm well aware
of that.

  
Look, I'll talk
you through it.

  
Any jackass can fix
that thing.

  
Just remove the panel.

  
Okay, now above that coil

  
is a little tube
filled with mercury.

  
That's supposed to activate
the contact switch.

  
But this hotel's so goddamn old,
half the shit in here don't work.

  
Just give the tube
a little tap.

  
Just tap the damn thing!

  
Yeah, there it is.

  
Oh, sir,
you're a genius.

  
A gentleman and a scholar.

  
Thank you.
Let me give you...

  
a tip.

  
Sir?

  
Son of a...

  
Nobody lasts
more than an hour.

  
Very effective.

  
Oh fuck!
Jesus!

  
Oh, God.

  
Ow!
Son of a...

  
Ow! Fuck!
Agh!

  
Ow!
God!

  
Hello?

  
- Hello?
Sir, I'm afraid there was

  
a miscommunication
in the kitchen.

  
There's going to be a 10-minute delay
with your sandwich.

  
Sandwich?
What sandwich?

  
I didn't order any sandwich.
What are you talking about?

  
I'm sorry.
You're welcome to substitute

  
a side dish for
your French fries.

  
We have cottage cheese,
macaroni salad,

  
- coleslaw...
- Listen to me. You win.

  
I'm checking out.
I'm hurt.

  
Do you understand?
My goddamn hand is hurt.

  
I understand. If you leave your dry
cleaning out by 10:00 AM,

  
we'll have it pressed
and returned by 5:00...

  
Shit, bitch! Call me a cab
to the nearest hospital!

  
I'm hurt! Do you comprehend
what I'm telling you?

  
Sir, I will not tolerate you speaking
to me in that tone of voice.

  
You're an idiot!
I'm gonna sue your ass!

  
I'm gonna take legal action!
What's wrong with you?

  
If you wish, I can connect you
with our manager Mr. Olin.

  
Good! Good good good
good good! Put him on.

  
Put him on. I'm gonna blitz
the son of a bitch.

  
Olin... good!
Put him on now!

  
When staying at
the Dolphin, be certain to enjoy

  
New York's finest dining at the fabled
Sea Bream restaurant

  
on our mezzanine level.
Muscles tense?

  
Then make an appointment
to visit our deluxe spa

  
on the Coral level.
With full massage,

  
facial and aromatherapy
facilities,

  
- it will leave you feeling relaxed...
- Hello?

  
and revitalized.
Your call is important to us...

  
You bitch.

  
You win.
You win.

  
All right.
Okay!

  
Come on.
Come on!

  
Come on.
Come on.

  
Hey!

  
Help!
Help!

  
Help! Help!

  
Can anybody hear me?

  
Help!

  
You! Sir!
Sir! Help!

  
Yeah!
Yeah, you! Help!

  
Help! Help!
You, sir!

  
Help!
Can you see me?

  
Yeah!
The Dolphin Hotel!

  
Call the police!

  
Help!

  
Help!

  
Hey!
Look out!

  
Hey!

  
I'm losing my mind.

  
I can see you, Dad.

  
Daddy?
Daddy, where are you?

  
I'm gonna get you.

  
Ready or not,

  
here I come.

  
Here you are.

  
I see you, Daddy.

  
Get ahold of yourself.

  
You're running to places
that aren't real.

  
Get up. Get up.

  
You're losing the plot.

  
You're losing
the whole goddamn structure.

  
Daddy! Find me.

  
Psychokinetic
fibrillations.

  
A tired mind among classic haunted-house
powers of suggestion.

  
Gaslit features,
faded rugs,

  
like that motel
in Kansas.

  
There's a reason for everything.
Just think.

  
What's that?

  
What is that?
Is that a spycam?

  
Who is that?
Are you enjoying this?

  
Is that the sadistic owner
of the hotel or is that Olin?

  
Wait a minute.

  
He gave me booze.

  
He gave me booze.
Did he take a sip?

  
I can't remember.

  
He dosed me!

  
It was the booze
or the chocolates.

  
Never take candy
from strangers.

  
All right, all right.
I'm just hallucinating.

  
I'm just hallucinating.

  
I've just got to
ride this out.

  
I've got to
ride this out

  
for four or five hours
and I'm straight. Okay.

  
You can do this.

  
Oh, man. I'm gonna get you.

  
You are finished.
Come here. Come here!

  
Dad! Sit down!

  
You want me to sit down?

  
You want me to sit down?

  
- Yes!
- Okay, hold on, hold on.

  
Let me find a good...

  
let me find a good
frame here.

  
Ladies and gentlemen,

  
welcome to the Most
Ugliest Person Competition.

  
Fifth and fourth place

  
goes to Boris and Doris
the goldfish.

  
Ladies and gentlemen!
Let's get a closeup of those guys.

  
Let's have a closeup
of Boris and Doris.

  
Look at that.
Those are some ugly fish.

  
They're so ugly
they're running from you.

  
Third place
goes to Mike Enslin.

  
Surprise surprise.

  
Right, how's this for ugly?

  
Second place
goes to Lily Enslin.

  
That was good.

  
That's kind of like Beowulf
meets a redneck.

  
- I like it.
- And first place goes to Katie Enslin.

  
That is a terror.
That is...

  
oh, God! Don't show
me that face!

  
Oh, I can't look
at it again.

  
Whatever you do, don't turn around.

  
Whatever you do,
don't show us that face.

  
Ma'am, can you hear me?

  
Ma'am, I need your help.

  
Please, ma'am,
can you hear me?

  
Kid, be quiet.

  
Please, ma'am.

  
Quiet!

  
I... wish...

  
I was dead.

  
Where's my garden?

  
I can't smell anything.

  
I hate this place.

  
How did I get here?

  
Pop.

  
Dad.

  
It's Michael.

  
As you are...

  
I was.

  
As I am...

  
you will be.

  
Maybe I'm not real.

  
Maybe I'm just
having a nightmare...

  
an incredibly vivid

  
lucid nightmare.

  
When is the last time
I remember going to bed?

  
I flew in yesterday.

  
Or was that... today?

  
I can't remember.

  
Was I on a train?

  
I woke up somewhere

  
and I had breakfast.

  
Where was I?
What did I eat?

  
Here it comes.

  
They say you can't die
in your dreams.

  
Is that true?

  
The shock
would wake you up.

  
So you couldn't
really die.

  
All right,
what are our options?

  
Got the hallway,
got guest rooms on either side,

  
stairwell,
fire exits.

  
And that's
the next window...

  
the next room.

  
How many feet across
is that?

  
One...

  
...three,

  
four, five,

  
six, seven, eight...

  
nine.

  
Nine, nine...
18 feet across.

  
Okay.
I can do this.

  
If something should happen,
if I should slip and fall,

  
I want it to be known
that it was an accident.

  
The room...

  
did not win.

  
Okay.

  
Okay, I can do this.

  
18 little steps.

  
Four...

  
Don't look down.
Five...

  
Keep moving.

  
Here we go.

  
All right.
Okay.

  
Number nine...

  
eight...

  
six...

  
Where is it?
Where is it?

  
Get ahold of yourself.

  
You're running to places
that aren't real.

  
Hotel rooms are naturally
creepy places.

  
Strangely, the bedroom
has no window.

  
Strangely, the bedroom has no window...

  
Dr. Edwards to Oncology.

  
Please, please.

  
No. No. Doctors don't
know everything.

  
We can get another opinion,
look for other treatment.

  
- You hear about...
- Look at me.

  
...miracle cures.
- Lily.

  
Oh God.
Please, something.

  
What kind of god would
do this to a little girl?

  
Katie.

  
Daddy, I can't see you.

  
Daddy, I can't find you.

  
Daddy, I'm scared.

  
- Katie.
- I'm scared, Daddy.

  
Help.

  
Help me.

  
Daddy, help me.

  
Okay, how about
the wireless?

  
Come on.

  
Give me a signal.
Give me a signal.

  
Good evening, Mike.

  
Oh, yes!

  
Mike?

  
Mike, is that...
is that you?

  
- I can barely see you.
- Yes yes.

  
- It's like seeing a ghost.
- No no no. Yes, it's me.

  
- It's me. It's Mike.
- This is a little bizarre.

  
I mean, I haven't talked
to you in a year

  
and suddenly you pop up
in a box on my computer.

  
I'm sorry, Lily.
Listen to me, please, quickly.

  
Look, I'm at work, okay? So why don't
you call me at home tonight?

  
I'm trapped in this room,
this place.

  
Mike, you're always trapped in weird
places. That's your job.

  
No no, please, Lily. Listen to me.

  
- Please.
- Lily Enslin.

  
- Hi. Yeah yeah.
- Lily!

  
- I've got those. I'll be right down.
- No. Lily!

  
Lily, please!
Call the cops.

  
Send them
to the Dolphin Hotel.

  
I'll call you back.

  
- You're in the city?
- Yes!

  
- 2254 Lexington.
- What are you doing in New York?

  
I'll tell you later.
The Dolphin Hotel, room 1408.

  
- That's just perfect.
- Please.

  
You walk out, you disappear.
Leaving me what?

  
Not divorced. Separated?
I don't know, it's not clear.

  
- Suddenly you need me?
- Lily, I'm in a real bad spot here.

  
- I'm in danger. You understand?
- Okay, Mike. Slow down.

  
You're not making
any sense.

  
There's something trying
to kill me right now.

  
No, Lily!

  
No no no!

  
I've got a knife!

  
That's the way out.

  
Or that way.
Or that way.

  
All right,
that's the way out.

  
Lady, let me in!

  
- Help! Help!
- Please, sleep.

  
- Lady, I'm coming through!
- Mike!

  
Mike, can you help me?
Where'd you go?

  
I got to get some cigarettes.
You want something?

  
Jesus Christ!

  
I've got to go. I'll be in California.

  
Mike, you can't do this.

  
She needs you.
She lost a kid too.

  
You've got an amazing talent
for stating the obvious, Pop.

  
You think
I don't know that?

  
I'm trying to talk
some sense into your head!

  
- Don't put your hands on me, old man!
- Mike!

  
Talk? Why change what appears to be
the habit of a lifetime, Pop?

  
You were always great
at passing judgment,

  
but the problem is
you never gave a shit.

  
I never gave a shit
because you're a bullshit writer!

  
Shit!

  
Hello!

  
Oh.

  
Kevin O'Malley.

  
No.

  
No no no no no no.

  
I can't help you.

  
No!

  
It's good to be back.

  
That's enough of that.

  
Alcohol.

  
I was just checking to see
if the accommodations

  
are exceeding
your expectations.

  
You know goddamn well
they are!

  
- What do you want from me?
- No no no.

  
What do you want?

  
What do you want,
Mr. Enslin?

  
- You sought this room.
- It was a job. I was doing the job.

  
- I beg your pardon?
- My job! I'm a writer.

  
Oh, that's right.
You don't believe in anything.

  
You like shattering
people's hopes.

  
Oh, that's bullshit!

  
Why do you think people
believe in ghosts?

  
For fun?
No.

  
It's the prospect
of something after death.

  
How many spirits
have you broken?

  
She was in so much pain.

  
I'm sure she's smiling down
on us right now.

  
What do you want
from me?

  
Huh?

  
What do you want
from me?

  
You...

  
you little...

  
What do you want?

  
What?!

  
I want my drink!

  
You win.
You win.

  
Mommy?
Hmm?

  
Why is the Bible purple?

  
I don't know why it's purple.

  
It was a wedding present.

  
My grandmother brought it
all the way from Hungary.

  
Someday it'll be yours.

  
Are there people
where I'm going?

  
Hey, you're not
going anywhere, kiddo.

  
You're gonna stay
right here with us.

  
Daddy...

  
everyone dies.

  
When they're old.

  
When they're much older.

  
Okay, and then they go
to a better place.

  
And it's beautiful there.

  
And all your friends
will be there.

  
Is God there?

  
Yes.

  
Do you really
believe that, Daddy?

  
Yes.

  
You know what I think!
We should have done more!

  
- We did everything we could!
- No, we didn't!

  
- We should have helped her fight...
- Oh my God.

  
...instead of filling her head full
of these stories

  
about heavens
and the clouds and nirvana

  
and all that bullshit!

  
Those stories,
she like them.

  
I'm going to get
some cigarettes, okay?

  
We ponder the situation.

  
I'm trying to
accurately describe...

  
Orpheus on
the Orpheum Circuit

  
bathed in tango light,

  
the kind of light
that makes the dead...

  
get out of their graves
and tango.

  
Now this is level nine...

  
the deepest level of hell,

  
furthest removed
from all light and warmth.

  
This is six.

  
It's goddamn five.

  
I think I see
the pattern.

  
Yes, I can see
the pattern.

  
Mike.

  
Mike, can you hear me?

  
- Michael, where the hell are you?
- Lily.

  
Michael?

  
- Mike.
- Lily.

  
Michael, can you hear me?

  
Lily.

  
Oh my God. Thank God.
Jesus, I've been trying to get through!

  
- Did you call the cops?
- Yeah yeah, they're at the hotel.

  
- Didn't you say the Dolphin?
- Yes.

  
- You're sure?
- Yes yes, 1408.

  
Mike, they're in 1408.

  
The room's empty.

  
Mike?

  
Michael,
can you hear me?

  
Michael?

  
Michael,
where the hell are you?

  
I'm afraid I can't express
myself in this climate.

  
Calm down, okay?
We'll figure this out.

  
- Don't panic.
- I'm supposed to die here.

  
Michael, stop it!
You're not gonna die, okay?

  
Don't move.
I can be there in 15 minutes.

  
Mike?
Michael?

  
15 minutes
isn't enough time.

  
- It'll be too late.
- No, it won't be too late.

  
- Lily.
- Don't...

  
Actually, 15 minutes
is perfect.

  
It's perfect.
Just come up. Come now.

  
- Good, yes.
- I need you.

  
You've always been someone
I can count on.

  
I know we haven't talked a lot
since... since Katie died,

  
- but I need you, sweetie.
- Wait!

  
I can't explain it here. You just have
to come here and talk to me.

  
I miss you too, but...

  
When you get here,
don't talk to anybody.

  
Just come straight up to the 14th floor.

  
- Walk through the door.
- Shut up! Shut up!

  
- It's life or death, sweetie.
- Do not come up to the room!

  
- Okay.
- Don't come up to the room!

  
- I need to talk to you about Katie.
- Don't! Shut up!

  
- Lily, don't listen to him!
- Yes, good.

  
- It's a trick! Don't come up here!
- I'll be right there.

  
Lily! Lily!

  
My baby! My baby!

  
She's heading for the rocks!

  
I don't want to die!

  
Oh God!

  
Man overboard!

  
Come on!

  
Are you okay, buddy?

  
Hey, are you breathing?

  
Come on, talk to me.

  
You guys,
give me a hand here!

  
Dr. Edwards to Oncology, please.

  
Hey.

  
How are you feeling?

  
- Am I out?
- You're okay. You're okay.

  
Lie down,
lie down, lie down.

  
Lie down, lie down, lie down.
You're okay.

  
You're in the hospital.

  
Hospital where?
In New York?

  
New York?
No no, you're in LA.

  
You got hit on the head
with your board.

  
I can't believe
you still surf.

  
You flew here
just for me?

  
Yeah. Yeah,
I was worried.

  
They called.

  
I think I'm still listed
as your next of kin.

  
Okay, I'm not in New York.

  
- I'm out.
- Why do you keep saying that?

  
I was in New York.
I was trapped.

  
In New York,
I was dying

  
in this Kafkaesque hotel,

  
the Dolphin.

  
- What?
- The Dolphin Hotel on 45th and Lex.

  
- I spoke with you there.
- 45th and Lex?

  
- I called you.
- I've never heard of it.

  
You're gonna be okay.
You just need to rest.

  
Oh, we have a winner.

  
600 bucks.

  
Unbelievable.

  
I can see why
you live here.

  
Why did you leave?

  
Because every time
I looked at you,

  
I saw her face.

  
I think it's pretty clear.

  
I think in the dream
the room's your subconscious

  
and it brought up
a lot of stuff.

  
That's a good thing
for you.

  
But this was... I mean, I was down
the rabbit hole.

  
I was rattled.
I was shook up.

  
And I can't shake it.
I think after dinner

  
you should drive me
back to the hospital,

  
check me into the psych unit.

  
You look really great.

  
I can't believe
I'm sitting here with you.

  
Tell me about it.

  
Is everything all right?
Can I get you anything else?

  
I'll have another
glass of wine, please.

  
The same.

  
Mike?

  
Yeah, I'll have
another tequila...

  
Patron, chilled,
double.

  
Be right back.

  
Katie was there.

  
Mmm-hm.

  
Can you imagine

  
what it feels like
to have the sensation?

  
I mean, the very
real sensation

  
that I talked to her,
like, two days ago?

  
I talked to her,
saw her, touched her.

  
Yeah.

  
I see her every night
when I shut my eyes.

  
Yeah, but it was so vivid.

  
It was so real.

  
Maybe you should
write about it.

  
About Katie?
Shit.

  
- You always were tougher than me.
- Why not?

  
Seriously, it sounds like
you're ready to deal with this stuff.

  
Can you stay?

  
I'm sorry.

  
Okay, we have got 148.

  
148 is gonna be
right about...

  
Uh-huh.

  
So if you'd like
to sign on the line.

  
Hey!
Hey, man!

  
You've been
gone a while.

  
Oh, by the way,
dude, I read your book.

  
What is it?
"10 Most Haunted Motels," right?

  
That's some scary shit.

  
See you around.

  
Did I drop a postcard?

  
- What?
- Did I?

  
- Huh?
- A postcard.

  
No, I think I would
have seen it.

  
But if I find it,
I'll put it in your mailbox.

  
Okay?

  
My experience in the room
was terrifying,

  
a fragmented loop
of unease and despair.

  
1408 was a horrible dream,

  
yet somehow
I awoke from it renewed.

  
Mikey! You sound happy.

  
- You're scaring me.
- I wouldn't go that far,

  
but I must say that the work
is just pouring out of me.

  
I think I've actually
reinvented myself

  
in the form of a kind
of a fictional memoir...

  
"Autobiography
of a Nightmare:

  
Truman Capote meets H.R. Giger. "
What do you think?

  
I love it!
"'In Cold Blood' with 'Aliens!"'

  
That's sexy.
I wanna put it out to auction,

  
start a bidding war.
When can I read it?

  
Easy, tiger. Any day now.
You're gonna get it as soon as I finish.

  
Okay, Mike.
Less talking, more writing.

  
Hey, where's that decaf?
I'm dying here.

  
Thank you.

  
Hey, Pop.

  
How are you doing,
old boy?

  
Can you hear me?

  
I don't think so.

  
I know I haven't been
here in a few months,

  
but I just wanted to...

  
come by and see
how you're doing and...

  
tell you I was doing okay.

  
Doing pretty good, actually.

  
I started talking
to Lily again.

  
And I wrote a new book,

  
which I actually think
you would like...

  
believe it or not.

  
Michael.

  
Dad.

  
Michael.

  
Yeah.

  
So...

  
Hey, you can't park there!
Move it down, will you?

  
Hey, I got a package
I need to overnight.

  
Is this the right form? I got to get
this to New York by tomorrow morning.

  
I'm sorry, sir, but we're closed.

  
Very well.

  
I was out.

  
Is that Katie?

  
I was out.

  
I was out!

  
I was out.
Please, God.

  
I know I was out.

  
Yeah.

  
Open it.

  
...are yawning up widely in our path.

  
We know the way
of the righteous man.

  
Daddy.

  
- Daddy?
- No.

  
- You're not Katie.
- I need help.

  
Please.

  
You're not real.

  
I'm cold.

  
- You're not Katie.
- So cold.

  
I love you, Daddy.

  
Don't you love me anymore?

  
Of course I do,
sweetheart.

  
There we go.
I got you.

  
I got you now, Katie.

  
- Oh my God.
- They won't let me stay.

  
- Yes, they will.
- They won't let me stay.

  
- What?
- They won't let me stay.

  
No no no no no. Nobody's ever going
to take you away again.

  
I got you now, Katie.
Oh my God.

  
- I'm not gonna let you go.
- Do you love me, Daddy?

  
Of course I do. I love you more than
anything in the world.

  
I wish we could
stay together,

  
you, me, and Mommy.

  
We can, we can.
I got you right here.

  
I got you right here, sweetie.
Everything's fine.

  
Everything is fine.

  
No.
No.

  
No. No.

  
You can't take her twice.

  
You can't.

  
Not again.
Please, God.

  
You can't.

  
Please.

  
No!

  
No.

  
You little...

  
where is it?

  
Where?!
Where?!

  
Why don't you
just kill me?

  
Because all guests of this hotel

  
enjoy free will,
Mr. Enslin.

  
You can choose to relive this hour
over and over,

  
or you can take advantage
of our express checkout system.

  
Mr. Enslin?

  
Are you ready to check out,
Mr. Enslin?

  
No.

  
- Not your way.
- I understand.

  
By the way, Mr. Enslin,
your wife just called.

  
She'll be here in five minutes
and we'll send her straight up.

  
She's not involved.

  
You can't have her.

  
I'm done arguing with you.

  
I'm gonna end this.

  
Five.
This is five.

  
Ignore the siren.
Even if you leave this room,

  
you can never
leave this room.

  
Eight.
This is eight.

  
We have killed
your friends.

  
Every friend

  
is now dead.

  
I lived the life of a selfish man.

  
But I don't have
to die that way.

  
If I'm going down,

  
I'm taking you with me.

  
This may not all be real,

  
and I may not even be real,

  
but this fire...

  
that's got to be real.

  
Go to hell!

  
Get out onto the street!

  
Out the doors
and onto the street, please.

  
Everyone stay calm.

  
- What's going on?
I don't know, lady.

  
This might take a while.
Something must have happened.

  
Thanks.

  
Keep quiet,
you bastard.

  
Please, you've gotta help me.
No, help me.

  
- Calm down.
- My husband's inside.

  
My husband's inside.
You've gotta help him.

  
You've gotta help him,
please!

  
What floor?
What floor?

  
14th floor, 1408.
Mike Enslin.

  
Please come here.

  
You're wasting your time.

  
We're here
to do the job,

  
and we don't rattle.

  
The decor is in tatters

  
and the staff surly.

  
But on the Shiver Scale...

  
I award the Dolphin
10 skulls!

  
Never kill
more than you can eat.

  
Daddy, everyone dies.

  
We commend to Almighty God
our brother,

  
and we commit his body
to the ground,

  
earth to earth,
ashes to ashes,

  
dust to dust.

  
May you rest in peace.

  
Amen.

  
Well, they're together now.

  
Let's go.

  
Mrs. Enslin?

  
I...

  
I am sorry to intrude at such
a delicate time,

  
but I knew your husband.
I worked at the Dolphin.

  
Oh.

  
While we were cleaning up,
we came across some of his belongings.

  
No, thank you.

  
They are of such
a personal nature, ma'am.

  
- I figured maybe you would want to...
- No, please.

  
It's not how
I want to remember him.

  
I'm sure you understand.

  
Oh yes, yes.
Of course I understand.

  
But it's important that you know
that he did a great thing.

  
He did not die
in vain.

  
What are you talking about?

  
Because of him,
the room won't reopen. It's been...

  
All right, okay, stop.

  
Just give
the lady some air.

  
She's been through enough,
don't you think?

  
Round one goes to the hideous Mr. Olin

  
for effective
aggressiveness.

  
I have to admit,
he had me going.

  
Get ahold of yourself.

  
You're running to places
that aren't real.

  
Daddy,

  
don't you
love me anymore?

  
Of course I do, sweetheart.

  
- Don't you love me, Daddy?
- Of course I do, honey,

  
more than anything.
I got you now.

  
I got you right here, sweetie.
Everything's fine.

  
I got you, Katie.
Nobody's ever gonna let you go.

  
Daddy?

  
Daddy!
Daddy!

  
Daddy!

  
Hey, sweetie.

  
Daddy!

  
Yes, of course.

 
Special thanks to SergeiK.