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Doctor Sleep Review: The Shining Gets a Worthy Sequel
ALTHOUGH IT HAS TROUBLE RECONCILING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN KING AND KUBRICK'S THE SHINING, DOCTOR SLEEP IS AN AFFECTING HORROR DRAMA ON ITS OWN.
Stephen King is not a fan of Stanely Kubrick's The Shining adaptation (as he's more than happy to tell you), and has reason not to be. Kubrick's film plays down the core themes of King's original novel, and makes its central character, Jack Torrance, into less of a tragic figure that he was in the book. This is worth mentioning since the adaptation of King's Doctor Sleep functions as a sequel to both The Shining novel and movie, in addition to being an interpretation of its source material. Although it has trouble reconciling the differences between King and Kubrick's The Shining, Doctor Sleep is an affecting horror drama on its own.
Ewan McGregor stars in Doctor Sleep as a grown-up Danny Torrance from The Shining. As an adult, Danny is traumatized by the events of his childhood and becomes an alcoholic (like his dad) to suppress his Shining. He eventually finds his way to Frazier, New Hampshire, a small town where he joins AA and takes a job at a hospice, using his powers to comfort its dying patients. There, Danny is contacted by Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), a teenager with powerful Shining abilities that make her a target for the True Knot - a semi-immortal cult that feeds on kids with The Shining - and its leader, Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson).
In the hands of writer-director Mike Flanagan (Gerald's Game, The Haunting of Hill House), King's Doctor Sleep makes for a somber reflection on the lingering effects of childhood trauma and addiction by way of the horror genre. Michael Fimognari's cinematography and The Newton Brothers' score give the film the same chilly look and atmosphere as the storyteller's previous output, even as Flanagan edits Doctor Sleep in the style of Kubrick's The Shining (with scenes dissolving one another like waves). Doctor Sleep rarely feels like an imitation of Kubrick, though, and the times when Flanagan does recreate key moments from The Shining are typically only done in service of the story being told here (save for the third act; more on that later). Flanagan's humanist sense of terror is a better fit for The Shining sequel than Kubrick's approach to horror anyway, so it's good that he rarely tries to evoke him.
Justifying its lengthy runtime, Doctor Sleep devotes a number of scenes to simply fleshing out its heroes and villains. Danny's struggles and budding friendship with Abra (the pair connect by Shining) are effectively juxtaposed with the True Knot's efforts to expand their ranks and find those few who still Shine for the first half of the film. This is the portion of Doctor Sleep where McGregor gets to really excel as an actor, digging into his character's battle to overcome his self-destructive behavior and using his powers to help others, instead. He's complimented nicely by Curran as the brave and charming Abra, with Cliff Curtis bringing real warmth to his role as Danny's AA sponsor, Billy Freeman, and Carl Lumbly capturing the kindly essence of Scatman Crothers as he assumes the role of Dick Hallorann (who only appears as a ghost here). On the opposite side, Ferguson is a creepy delight as Rose the Hat, and the villain gets a surprising amount of depth and vulnerability for a murderer who runs around killing children with nary a second thought.
As indicated, however, Flanagan has trouble sticking the landing in the third act. This is the segment where Doctor Sleep has to deviate the most from its source material, in order to make sense as a continuation of Kubrick's movie. Unfortunately, it's also the act where Doctor Sleep starts to feel like a sequel in a bad way, recycling iconic visuals from Kubrick's film for the sake of nostalgia and straining to tie-in The Overlook Hotel's mythology to its overarching plot. The payoff to Danny's attempt to finally make peace with his father's memory is similarly fumbled because the Jack Torrance in Kubrick's The Shining just isn't the same as the man in King's book, and the movie can't quite find a way to make up the difference. That's not to say Doctor Sleep goes off the rails (its poignant final moments still packs a punch), but it does prevent the sequel from achieving true excellence.
To be frank, though, Flanagan probably does as great a job as anyone could of adapting the Doctor Sleep novel while simultaneously making a sequel to both King and Kubrick's The Shining that allows them to coexist in harmony with one another. It's a fine addition to the filmmaker's growing body of work about psychological trauma, recovery, and family overall, and keeps the larger renaissance of movies and TV shows based on King's oeuvre going strong. The revisiting of the horror icon's literature has given audience fresh takes on stories like IT and Pet Sematary of late, but Doctor Sleep is fascinating in the way it re-examines an earlier King adaptation, yet progresses its narrative at the same time. It might not shine quite as brightly as it could've, but it comes pretty dang close all the same.
TRAILER
Doctor Sleep begins playing in U.S. theaters on Thursday evening, November 7. It is 152 minutes long and is rated R for disturbing and violent content, some bloody images, language, nudity and drug use.
Doctor Sleep (2019) release date: Nov 08, 2019
