SEMI-SPOILERISH. Just a teeny bit.
Stephen King notoriously didn’t approve of Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining nearly forty years ago, but he does like Doctor Sleep’s move to the big screen this year.
Struggling for decades to fight off the trauma of the incidents at Overlook Hotel, a now-adult Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) must help protect the brave, smart young teenager Abra (Kyleigh Curran) from the cult The True Knot led by the chilling Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) who prey on those who possess the powers of The Shining.
I liked that the film took all the time it needed to flesh out what has happened to Dan through the years, not just for curiosity’s sake but that these gave an emotional weight to the payoff at the end of the film. It’s always more welcome to know the characters more instead of just ticking off the grocery list of plot points of a horror flick.
That doesn’t mean Doctor Sleep is a mental bore, though. It’s actually a bit of fun because a) Ferguson, b) it has the required jump scares and suspense from a thriller, but also c) because the good guys with powers must battle the bad guys with powers very likely at the most haunted hotel known in all of cinema (that’s the spoiler I have, if you happen to not get that already from the premise, the synopsis above or the trailer.) If this came from a graphic novel, we’d call it a superhero horror movie.
Just enough dosage of the heebie jeebies for noobs and throwback thrills for fans of the classic original. Ferguson’s Rose the Hat shines as one of the more memorable screen baddies in recent times, and newcomer Curran is able to stand toe to toe in scenes with McGregor or against Ferguson.
Works better if removed from all comparisons with the classic – but that isn’t possible with Sleep’s constant references (in story and tone) to the horror masterpiece. Its strength is also its weakness.
Trailer here: https://youtu.be/LP7I0ycv2FM
© Images and trailer link courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
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