Director Mike Flanagan’s feature film adaptation of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep was one of my most anticipated films of the year. As a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and the books that King has written that follow the story of Danny Torrance, I couldn’t wait to see this sequel and how it would be worked into Kubrick’s original film.
I’m happy to say that the movie did not disappoint! I loved it! I loved how the characters were handled and how Flanagan managed to rework King’s novel to fit Kubrick’s incredible film. He managed to pull something off that brought feelings of both nostalgia and fear. I am ultimately happy with how the movie turned out, but it wasn’t perfect and it certainly wasn’t as good as King’s book or Kubrick’s movie.
Before I go on and talk about the film, here’s the synopsis for it, so you know what it’s about:
Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the “shine.” Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality.
Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra’s innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before—at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.
While the movie has a 2 hour 33-minute runtime, it just wasn’t enough time to properly tell this story. I kind of wish that the movie would have been split into two films so that they could really dive into the characters more. There’s only so much you can do in a limited amount of time. For example, one of my favorite aspects of the film is when Danny is trying to get his life together and he ends up working at a convalescent home as a janitor. While there, he uses “The Shine” to help the people who are dying there cross over to the other side. It’s there he becomes known as Doctor Sleep.
That aspect of the story could have been a whole film. It was a very sweet, satisfying, emotional, and wonderful part of the story. There just wasn’t enough time to explore it properly. Don’t get me wrong, this didn’t make the film bad in any way. I just wanted to see more of the story and characters explored.
The film had an incredibly strong cast to bring the characters of the story to life. Ewan McGregor as Danny, Rebecca Ferguson as Rose The Hat, and newcomer Kyliegh Curran as Abra, all gave amazing performances! They were the main strengths of the film and what they bring to these characters when bringing them to life was truly impressive. I especially enjoyed Curran as Abra. She was perfect in this role and she has a very bright career ahead of her. It was also interesting to see some of the characters from the original film come back and be played by different actors. The actors cast in those roles did a wonderful job.
The journey of Danny and Abra as they fight against Rose The Hat and her friends is a treacherous one. These are powerful and dangerous people who do the most horrific things to stay alive. There’s a part in the story that shifts everything. If you’ve read the book, you know what it is. I won’t spoil if for you, but it is a gut-wrenching moment that escalates things to the next level. This scene was handled extremely well in the film. You’ll know it when you see it.
The whole story leads to a climactic showdown at the Overlook Hotel, and fans of The Shining are going to love this! I won’t get into what actually happens at the Overlook, but this part of the story was definitely told in a way to service the fans. I’m really curious to see what everyone thinks about this part of the film. This is another part of the story that could have been its own separate film! There’s so much to build up and explore here. But again, the filmmakers did the best they could with the time they were given and they did a great job with it!
I’m ultimately very happy a satisfied with how Doctor Sleep turned out. I’m excited to see it again and I’m excited for all of you to eventually get to see it! Especially the fans of The Shining, because this sequel was made for us!
