As advertised, yes, this is the sequel to The Shining. But it’s so much more than just that. Doctor Sleep is a movie not just about confronting your past, but it’s also about understanding where you came from and accepting who you are, despite being different. This story isn’t all about going back to The Overlook Hotel, as its been advertised. It stands on its own as a thrilling and emotional horror film. Mike Flanagan — known for his adaptations of Gerald’s Game, and The Haunting of Hill House — understands what it means to create a story that’s not only scary, but touching.
I’ve read both Stephen King novels, The Shining and Doctor Sleep. And I thoroughly enjoyed them both (The Shining more so). As some people know, the ending of The Shining book is much different than the ending of the Stanley Kubrick film by the same name. This, in turn, means the beginning of the Doctor Sleep novel has some parts that require the previous book ending to be true, not The Shining movie ending. But none of that seemed to stop Flanagan from bringing both projects together to make something that the book and movie fans can appreciate. I think it even made King appreciate the Kubrick film, I believe he said that Doctor Sleep redeems it.
Speaking of which, all the little details that paid homage to The Shining film were wonderful. This truly felt like a sequel, with the cinematography, music, and flashbacks. There were also moments that were shot-for-shot, which was just fun to see. I want to make sure I mention that the casting was superb. For one thing, Alexandra Essoe played quite a convincing Wendy Torrance. And the other characters they brought back were wonderfully played as well. I was pleasantly surprised. The new characters were also admirable; I really loved seeing Ewan McGregor as Dan Torrance, and I think Kyliegh Curran played a terrific Abra. When I read the book I feel like I pictured all the characters as they were shown in the film.
I know the box office hasn’t been good to the movie thus far, and that could be for a number of reasons. But I found Doctor Sleep to be a remarkably heart wrenching, horrifying, and heartwarming film. The only issues I had were with pacing, and some parts I felt weren’t really fleshed out enough. Though, knowing everything that goes down in the novel(s), I feel like it was easy enough to follow. They did a good job of making sure everything could be understood by the audience, whether they had read the book(s) or not.
Doctor Sleep is a well thought out film, with the right amount of scares and story. Go see it. Then tell your friends to see it, especially if they’re a fan of The Shining. You’ll surely want to experience this.
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