This was the first time I'd seen the second ending on TV - all the other channels had shown the first one where he is sitting at his desk and plays the tape recorder and he and his wife hear their daughter's voice, so they know he was not hallucinating. Anybody else know other channels that show the 2nd ending?
I had not seen the 2nd ending before, so when the Dolphin owner looked in his rearview mirror, I jumped a mile!!
Apparently Xbox Live sells the second ending version. Which I had unknowingly bought. I am kinda pissed about it now. The cheap spook is lame compared to the US theatrical ending, which I found much, much creepier and more satisfying, as well as closer to the original ending to the short story Stephen King wrote. Now I need to find a Bluray of this movie to have the right ending...
shareAgree that the first ending had a more interesting conclusion. The ending where Mike and his wife both hear the tape recording did raise questions with me. Did Mike really escape from the room? Now free and reunited with his wife, were they both hearing the tape Mike recorded of the daughter?
Or was it the result of Mike's wife entering 1408 without telling anyone, as the "bogus" Mike instructed her to do during the laptop video chat, and she was now trapped with Mike by the room's curse and able to hear/see whatever her husband did? Despite the off-beat conclusion, I preferred this ending over the alternate one.
I agree with you. The theatrical ending is superior. I purchased on Amazon not knowing the ending was the version at the cemetery with Olin. I was pissed. The original was much better, ties the story together, and is thought provoking. Love the movie though.
shareother channels that show the 2nd ending?
I watched it on SyFy too, and it's only the second time I've seen it, the first being way back in 2007, so I just assumed it was the one and only ending, but I kept thinking that I swore he lived at the end.
Now the question arises, is Samuel L Jackson in the room now. He said he found Mike's stuff when they were cleaning up the room and he saw Mike;s ghost. I guess that means he's trapped as well.
I did not like the alternate ending. The guy did not deserve to die just because he was a skeptic. I hope I never see that again. He deserved to live and tell the story in a new book.
shareWhat happens in the alternate ending?
shareMike (John's character) dies. Gerald (Sam Jackson's character) shows up at the funeral and gives Mike's wife the tape recorder that Mike used while in the room. And on it were the voices of Mike and their dead daughter.
Its not close to being as satisfying as when Mike is rescued from the room and Gerald congratulates him for surviving. I love that. It made the movie alright. But when he dies it leaves a hole in you. All he went through for nothing.
That's not quite it. She doesn't take the tape recorder, so Samuel L plays it in his car after the funeral and hears Mike talking to his daughter. He sees a little girl in his rear view, and when he adjusts the mirror there's a jump scare of a burnt Mike sitting in the backseat. It's gone when he turns around. The movie ends with a shot of a ghost Mike in the burnt up room being called away by his daughter.
shareThis second ending I just watched was crappy and unsatisfactory. I didn't know there were alternative endings. Even the one mentioned here with Lily not hearing the daughters voice seems *beep* The original ending is why I watch it again. Boo on Syfy.
shareBoo indeed. I would rather not watch it if it has that shi--- ending.
Kay: Senators and presidents don't have men killed.
Michael: Oh, who's being naive, Kay?
It's funny, I turned it on again the next night near the ending and SyFy showed the good ending.
shareI just watched this movie on Syfy, and I was expecting the happy ending I loved, but I saw a different and very sad and upsetting ending for me! I loved this movie when I first saw it years ago because I liked that being in that room let him grieve his daughter and be able to be with his wife again. And I loved it when they both heard their daughter on the tape, and he knew it really happened.
I'm recovering from being sick, and that awful ending I saw on Syfy tonight really upset me! So, I searched and found the DVD I had bought years ago, and I just watched the ending, and it was the happy ending! I liked that they heard their daughter talking because we are left wandering what their reaction will be to that. Will they believe they will see their daughter again when they die? Or other questions? Anyway, I'm feeling happy now that I saw the ending I remembered and loved! I never realized their was an alternate ending, but I'm glad I never saw it before...and I'll only watch my DVD if I want to see it again, now that I know about the alternate ending!
I think this story works and is very effective with the first ending. It's still a scary story, but it brings up a lot to think about. And, I like the surprises in the movie. But I did not like the upsetting surprise ending in the alternate version I saw tonight! I don't normally watch scary movies because I like happy endings, not that a lot of scary movies don't have happy endings, but I really like John Cusack, so that's why I got it! I also loved seeing Tony Shalhoub and Samuel L. Jackson in it! So, I've learned something new tonight about the alternate ending - which I'll never watch again, lol! (If you liked that other ending, then that's great! It's just not my cup of tea.)
Btw I love several Stephen King movies! My favorite is the TV mini series on my old DVD of "It!" I loved the happy ending with "John Boy, lol" saving his wife on the bicycle! I loved the other actors in that movie too! And it was scary, but with comic relief moments - my kind of scary movie, but I think it was still a very good movie with many surprises! And I loved the Quantum Leap Halloween episode "Boogieman," which is based on Stephen King movies, and my favorite QL episode! It's got a scary atmosphere, and I loved all the references, the surprise ending, and the happy ending! I like Halloween-type scary movies with surprises, but with happy endings...or as happy as they an be for a scary movie! Everyone's different, and that's just me.
I thought I was going crazy. I didn't know there were two endings out there. Kept swearing that he had lived through it. BTW, I like the Sam Jackson graveyard one best.
shareI just watched it on SyFy. I knew about his death ending but this was the first time I ever saw the movie with the death ending. I'd only seen it on DVD before and they used the ending where he lived and him and his wife heard their daughter on his recorder. Wonder why SyFy chose the other route.
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