Doctor Sleep Review
7 / 10. Different in tone to its predecessor, which isn’t a bad thing. The film is very King-esque but could have delved deeper into the more interesting elements *MINOR SPOILERS*
Doctor Sleep is a sinister supernatural horror film written and directed by Mike Flanagan. It’s based on the 2013 Stephen King novel, a sequel to his 1977 book, The Shining
Danny Torrance, now a troubled, alcoholic adult, struggles with his psychic abilities and memories of his childhood trauma at the Overlook Motel. Seeking a quiet life, he moves to a small town as a hospice attendant and uses his ‘shining’ to comfort dying patients, who nickname him "Doctor Sleep." Dan intercepts telepathic communications from young girl, Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), and together they seek the deadly travelling cult, the True Knot, led by mysterious Rose the Hat …
A long-awaited sequel, which begins as a homage to Kubrick’s The Shining with the recreation of scenes from the 1980 film which are authentic and faithfully reproduced. We catch up with young Danny Torrance (Roger Dale Floyd) following events at the Overlook Motel, with reminders of his ‘gift,’ the film then jumps to Danny’s adulthood.
The film has a different in tone to its predecessor, which isn’t a bad thing. The Shining did terrify me when I first saw it, the abrasive, unsettling sound effects and score, and the incredible cinematography of Kubrick can’t be denied. However, Doctor Sleep is more King-esque in tone and atmosphere. It includes a subtle dread and horror, and incorporates more endearing characters, which is more like King’s books. It shares a more similar tone with the recent Castle Rock and The Outsider TV series, than the bold and brash The Shining.
The abrupt jump to adulthood gives an interesting insight into Danny’s life, now played by Ewan McGregor, who is engaging in this role, as he struggles with his blessing / curse of the ‘shining’, and the work he does, which makes sense, if a little meandering.
The scenes with smiling and sinister Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her True Knot carny crew are more interesting and engaging, but the end section brings the three main elements of the film together, and these interactions are the best scenes of the film.
Ferguson thrives in the role of this great King character, and this is the best I’ve seen her. The True Knot’s proclivities are disturbing, and their eye change is a subtle effect. Rose’s sudden laugh freaked me out in that one scene. I’d have liked a deeper delve into Rose and the True Knot’s origins, all are quirky with differing gifts, but obviously that is covered in the book. Doctor Sleep also features great performances from Zahn McClarnon as Crow Daddy (he’s always great), Cliff Curtis as Billy Freeman and Emily Alyn Lind as Snakebite Andi, among others.
It builds to a satisfying (yet different from the book) ending, which is tinged with sadness, like most King stories. It also features an excellent recreation of a familiar face from The Shining.
That’s a lot of spoons for a three-person family.