1408 is the room number of a NYC hotel. Don't take that room, take the one by the elevator, take the one by the ice machine, take the one next to the all-night party, but do not take 1408. You will get a postcard which tells you not to take it. Don't take it! Aah, what's the use of yelling at the screen? The characters never listen.
The 2007 film, 1408, comes from the 1999 King short story, but we all know it doesn't take long for him to leave us trembling. John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack and Tony Shalhoub star in the scarefest, directed by Mikael Håfström.
An hour behind the locked door of room 1408 is all that most have been able to take. How will Cusack fare? It depends on which ending you see. Three endings were shot for the film and are used in different releases.
The wine pairing for 1408 is fairly straightforward - The Paranormal, from New Zealand's Supernatural Wine Company. It's a Hawke's Bay Cabernet Franc which is not nearly as dangerous as that hotel room.
If your vision of a St. Bernard dog is one of a lovable, furry beast rambling through the snow to bring you a small keg of brandy, you must have missed 1983's Cujo. The beast part fits, but Cujo brings no brandy for his victims, not even the ones who are unfortunate enough to be stuck inside a Ford Pinto. "Don’t get in that deathtrap!" Aah, again, the characters don't listen.
The movie was a big hit, but the critics hated it, one even suggesting that you would like the theater's air conditioning more than the film. That was brutal, but not as brutal as Cujo, the killer dog. King says Cujo is one of his personal favorites.
Dover Canyon Winery in Paso Robles has the 2019 Cujo Zinfandel - the 24th vintage of their "killer Zin." It's big and jammy and ready for the backyard BBQ.
The talk of 1980 was The Shining, Stanley Kubrick's vision of King's novel from three years earlier. If you need a reminder of the importance of avoiding "all work and no play," this is it. The film gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "Here’s Johnny" and added a jewel to Scatman Crothers' obituary a few years later. And stay out of room 237! Forget it, they don't listen.
A California company makes RedRum, made from U.S. Virgin Islands sugar cane and infused with natural mango, pineapple, coconut and cherry flavors. Their website doesn't work, but the rum seems to be carried at a fair number of online sources.
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