Doctor Sleep Review
Although it appears to be souless rehashing of the original Shining, Doctor Sleep is a smart, compelling character drama that acts as an organic extension of the world that had been set up by its predecessor. And it does a pretty damn good job at it as well. Anchored by Stephen King's strength as a world builder and Mike Flanagan's visceral direction and patient pacing, we end up with a very satisfying conclusion to The Shining mythos.
We follow Danny (Ewan McGregor) after the traumatic events at the overlook hotel, still haunted by the literal demons of his past and the alcoholism that tore his family. He befriends a girl (Kyliegh Curran) who can also shine while they're both hunted by a cult that feeds on children with psychic powers led by Rebecca Ferguson. It's fantasy psychic war movie, y'all! To start off the cast is great from the ones who play returning characters (which can be a bit distracting at first but you'll get used to it) and the newer characters especially Ferguson as Rose the Hat and Kyliegh Curran as Abra Stone -and holy shit are they incredible. Ewan McGregor shines (pun intended) as an older, more vulnerable Danny Torrance (something that was unfortunately missing in Kubrick's classic. It's a slow building redemption story that feels fully earned and acts as a legacy story passed down from him to a child of a new generation and, in turn, an newer audience. I can totally see Doctor Sleep becoming the horror movie that gets younger audiences interested in horror movies much like The Shining did since the 80's. The story is bigger in scope, the characters are more relatable (even the villains) and the stakes are higher -all things that make a sequel great.
Some things I didn't like include the Newton Brothers' score which is a bit of a knock off to Wendy Carlos' revolutionary work on the original and I wished they had done something more and different in this one because I think the score ends up feeling like a bland imitation rather than an inspired tribute. The colour grading is also not good in my opinion. It's the exact same look as The Haunting of Hill House which I also had the issues with -particularly in the darker looking scenes. The movie looks great when we revisit the hotel and during its more abstract sequences but those are exceptions to a weird looking movie.
In the end, Doctor Sleep somehow managed to meet my extremely high expectations as a sequel to my favourite horror and Kubrick film and as a movie from one of my favourite contemporary horror directors. The references can feel a bit forced and repetitive at times but the story it tells is well worth your time.