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The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.
"We've Only Just Begun," written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams; performed by The Carpenters.
Mike Enslin: "Let's 'Encyclopedia Brown' this bitch." Enslin is referring to the fictional boy detective and hero of a series of children's books by Donald J. Sobol.See: Encyclopedia Brown on Wikipedia
It's based on a short story by Stephen King. King created it for his nonfiction book On Writing as an example of how to edit a rough draft. The story appears in that book in incomplete form. The complete story is published in his collection, Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales.
Yes. There's a "Theatrical Release" and a "Director's Cut." The main difference between the two is in the endings. In the theatrical release, Mike Enslin is rescued. In the director's cut, he dies. Both versions have circulated widely, creating confusion among people who discuss the film. See the message board for this title. The DC runs approx. 12 minutes longer than the theatrical version. A detailed comparison between both versions can be found here.
The original ending .. [shows] the backdraft engulfing the room as Enslin hides under the coffee table, happy to see the room destroyed as he dies. Olin later approaches Lily and Enslin's agent at his funeral, where he unsuccessfully attempts to give back a box of Enslin's possessions, including his tape recorder. Olin listens to the recording in his car, hearing Katie's voice on the tape and catches a quick glimpse of a horribly burnt Enslin in his rear view mirror. The film ends at the gutted room, with an apparition of Enslin disappearing after being called away by the voice of his daughter and the sound of a closing door.
No, at the end of the film Mike is actually out of the room, free and clear. When going through his effects from the hotel he takes out his tape recorder, then fast forwards to point where he was holding his daughter. His wife Lily is in earshot of the recording and reacts to it. Then the film ends. Some people believe the scene shows that Mike is still trapped in the room, and perhaps Lily is now with him. This is not the case. The recording is what is called "Electronic Voice Phenomena, or EVP." "EVP" is the recording of spirits from an electronic device: in this case, a tape recorder. The recording proves to Lily that Mike was telling the truth about everything.
If the scene had continued, he may have found himself back in 1408 (without Lily, because that would have just been another daydream like when he saw her after he thought he got out the first time). However, she probably wouldn't have reacted at all and Mike probably would have started freaking out realizing that he wasn't free if this was the case. Also if he WAS still in the room at the end, it would make the ending of the theatrical cut and the ending of the Director's cut pretty much redundant. He dies in the director's cut (sad ending) he lives in the Theatrical (happy ending) to have him still trapped in the room at the end of the theatrical would be just another sad ending therefore might as well have left it as the director's cut.
One Theory It was likely Mr. Olin. Doing exactly what Enslin suspected; Trying to scare Enslin and convince him to stay in another room in order to write about the hotel in his book and give a bit of free promotion for the hotel.However this plan backfired for Olin when he found that Enslin was not easily convinced and insisted on staying in the room.Another theory It could have been the room itself, somehow knowing that Mr. Olin was preventing anyone from staying in the room long enough to let them be killed. So it sent the post card to Enslin figuring he'd be skeptical enough to not be afraid to stay in the room.
r73731
