Timing is everything.

Timed to coincide with Halloween, studios are releasing a host of horror and fantasy films on DVD, but the goosebump quantity and quality vary greatly.

In fact, with only a few exceptions, the spookiest thing about “1408,” John Cusack’s haunted-hotel-room thriller, is its lack of thrills.

Based on a Stephen King story, this exercise in masochism _ for Cusack’s character as well as for audiences _ doles out the largest assortment of faux-scary scenarios since “Dark Water.” Figure on two good scares, one twist, a satisfying ending _ and a lot of humdrum.

A psychological mess since the death of a family member, Cusack debunks tales of hauntings, then writes books about them. When hotel manager Samuel L. Jackson tries to dissuade him from spending the night in room 1408 _ which, Jackson says, has claimed 56 victims since the ’30s _ Cusack figures, yeah, sure, takes his tape recorder and soon regrets his cockiness.

Like King’s “The Dark Half,” “1408″ can be viewed as a straight horror story, a psychological thriller or a study of madness. I viewed it as a grating, overlong film filled packed with familiar devices _ blood drips through wall cracks, although here it resembles grape juice.

Extras: On the standard edition _ a trailer, a Cusack short that’s a glorified trailer, and an “Inside Room 1408″ short that’s pretty much the same but includes peeks at how some effects were created. On the two-disc edition _ the same, plus deleted scenes, commentary by the director and writers and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

Not so `Fantastic’
Though light on charisma, “The Fantastic Four” provided adequate escapism for fans of the Marvel Comics series. “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” out this week, contains more personality, more shots of Jessica Alba looking and acting sexy _ the highlight _ and a more-dumbed-down story.

Writers infuse the sequel with a commentary on celebrity obsession by having the media and public focus more on elastic Reed’s (Ioan Gruffudd) pending nuptials to Invisible Girl Sue (Alba) than on the pending end of the world _ and it plays like a kid-oriented comic book.

The remainder of the story deals with the resurrection of Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon) and the arrival of the Silver Surfer (think of the silver robot in “Terminator 2” but with less personality) to destroy Earth.

Extras: Two commentaries on the single disc; on the two-disc set, the same plus making-of and origins documentaries (including the comic beginnings of the Silver Surfer as a more complex, alien surfer dude), extended and deleted scenes, music, concept art.

And speaking of horror
One of the best Stephen King adaptations, “Misery” added “I’m your biggest fan” to the horror lexicon. “Misery: Collector’s Edition” reintroduces pop-novelist James Caan and nurse Kathy Bates, the good Samaritan/crackpot who keeps Caan captive as she tends to his injuries from a car accident _ and adds to his pain.

Bates, well-deserving of her best-actress Oscar for this performance, is still more frightening than anyone or anything else in the other films out this week on disc. Another plus is Caan, who turns in one of his best portrayals as the writer in jeopardy.

“Misery” and “1408″ only confirm: The scariest place in the world is the inside of King’s mind.

Five new featurettes of minor interest; a repeat of the 2003 commentary by director Rob Reiner and writer William Goldman _ who suggested Bates’ casting.

And speaking of aliens
The original “Species” _ new this week in a two-disc collector’s edition _ is a solid, albeit gory, slice of sci-fi horror about a bland, babe-a-licious blonde (Natasha Henstridge) who transforms into a slick, scaly alien with tentacles out to mate and slaughter (when disappointed), and the scientists who try to stop her. Three generations later, “Species IV: The Awakening,” also out this week, stars Swedish actress Helena Mattsson as another blond beauty, this time with a genius I.Q. but without the awareness that she’s been spliced together from alien and human DNA _ until she starts to get sick and kill. Her “uncle” (stern Ben Cross) takes her to Mexico for the cure _ by the scientist who helped him create her. And similarity to “Frankenstein” is purely intentional. Bottom line: The sequel is slow-moving, dull and written by people who didn’t care. Extras: None.

Also on DVD:
“Chicken Soup: Conversations for the Golfer’s Soul”: Reflections on family, work and the game by Arnold Palmer, Nancy Lopez, Jack Nicklaus and others.
“Day Night Day Night”: Teenage girl prepares for suicide-bombing mission in Times Square.
“Flight of the Living Dead”: Zombies on a plane.
“Funny Face: 50th Anniversary Edition”: Restored version of the elegant musical with Fred Astaire as a fashion photographer who turns bookstore clerk Audrey Hepburn into a top model; with new shorts about Paris in the ’50s and the collaboration between designer Hubert de Givenchy and Hepburn, his muse.
“Jindabyne”: Intriguing drama about four male friends who ignore the body they find floating in the water to keep fishing another day; with Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney.
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull”: Live-action seagull learns the meaning of life from other seagulls; based on the Richard Bach mega-seller.
“The Jungle Book 2-Disc Platinum Edition”: Animated Mowgli hangs with good animals, deals with bad; the animals sing; good fun.
“Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea”: Engaging, offbeat documentary about the history and denizens of the former “California Riviera,” narrated by John Waters.
“Sun Dogs”: Stray dogs are trained for Jamaica’s first dog-sled racing team.

DVD on TV
“BBC Atlas of the Natural World: Africa and Europe”; “Criminal Minds: The Second Season”; “Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour”; “I Love New York _ The Complete Unrated First Season”; “Jericho: The First Season”; “Little People, Big World”; “The Sarah Silverman Program”; “Shark, Season One”; “The War.”

Coming attractions
Oct. 9: “28 Weeks Later,” “Black Sheep”
Oct. 16: “Planet Terror” (the zombie half of “Grindhouse”)