Decades after his time at the Overlook, Dan Torrance befriends a young girl with a powerful shine and protects her from a cult that feeds on their power.
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Doctor Sleep (2019)Written and Directed by Mike Flanagan
Starring Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Carl Lumbly, Cliff Curtis, Zahn McClarnon, Emily Alyn Lind, Robert Longstreet, Alex Essoe, Henry Thomas Sequel to 1980's The Shining Based on the novel by Stephen King |
How my curiosity was piqued back in 2013 when the novel, Doctor Sleep, was released. A decades-later sequel to one of Stephen King’s most iconic work which had me wondering where King would possibly take these characters moving forward. My interest was quite satisfied as the novel has gone on to become one of my more favorite recent one of his. But, my interest was to be piqued yet again once it was announced Mike Flanagan would be directing the adaptation. The trailers looked great, showing a sequel which would be honoring the original and continuing the mastery of Flanagan. And boy, does he really show off his skills here. Doctor Sleep is one of the best King adaptations I’ve seen that successfully continues the story of some of horror’s more well-known characters.
The two things that make this movie work so well is the direction and the performances. Mike Flanagan has been a director who has been on my radar. He has consistently delivered old school type of horror. Instead of an over reliance on jump scares and very little character development, he does exactly the opposite. Flanagan makes projects where you get sucked into the story and characters while mixing in a mounting sense of dread that permeates until the end. Doctor Sleep is no different. A significant amount of time is given to the various characters and their motivations. This all culminates in one of the most insane, horrifying endings I’ve witness in a studio backed horror film. This is all backed up by insanely good performances across the board. Ewan McGregor is excellent as an older, worn down Danny who must help this young girl out. Kyliegh Curran plays the young girl and does a fantastic job for her very first movie role. But the standout has to be Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat. Ferguson imbues her portrayal with just the right amount of sexy and deadly, making it hard to take your eyes off the screen whenever she’s on. Doctor Sleep is another example of why I love Mike Flanagan so much. He delivers on two things, characters I care about and genuinely scary moments. For something which seemed destined to fail due to its ambitions to honor both the novel and original film, Doctor Sleep largely succeeds. If you’re a fan of the original, or even old school type of horror, check this movie out. It’s time to make a long overdue return to the Overlook Hotel. |
The Shining is considered one of the greatest horror films of all time, and for good reason. It's an undisputed masterpiece of cinema from the combined talents of Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick. Still, some King fans are polarized with the film, as many (including King himself) believe it to be a terrible adaptation of the book. Years later, King would write a sequel to the story, titled Doctor Sleep, that continued the story of Danny Torrance, now a grown man. Mike Flanagan had the daunting task of not only adapting one of King's most entertaining recent works, but also of bridging the divide between The Shining movie and The Shining novel. Flanagan pulled it all off brilliantly, and delivered one of the best King adaptations in years.
Ewan McGregor plays Dan Torrance, now a recovering alcoholic who suppresses his shine for fear of leaving himself open to the horrors of the Overlook, which are still after him. He encounters Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), a young girl with the most powerful shine in the world, so powerful that she's attracted the attention of the evil True Knot, a cult of soul-suckers led by the sadistic Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson). Together, Dan and Abra must find a way to stop Rose and the True Knot, who are eating the shine of children in order to become immortal. Of course, this wouldn't be a Shining sequel without the Overlook Hotel, which features heavily in some of the most fan-pleasing scenes in the film. It surprised me how far Flanagan went with making this a direct sequel to Kubrick's film. I loved every second of it. Doctor Sleep is creepy, well-acted, and just as atmospheric as its predecessor, a feat that I never thought would be possible. The music, the tone, and the lookalike actors all scream Shining from beginning to end. Mike Flanagan, with this and Gerald's Game, is proving himself to be a worthy adapter of King's stories, and I can't wait to see what he does next. This film is a real winner, and any Shining fan will absolutely adore it. |