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Review : Doctor Sleep (2019)

When you think about authors that have made an impact on the film industry, it’s hard to think of a name more prolific that Stephen King.  Countless books of his have been adapted into films, with scores more waiting in the wings.  Several of his books went from being single entries to series, and recently, one of his most famous books, The Shining, received a follow-up entry.  2019 saw this follow-up hit the big screen in the form of Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep. 

In the wake of the Overlook Hotel tragedy, Wendy Torrance (Alex Essoe) and her young son Danny (Roger Dale Floyd) have moved to Florida to try and bring normalcy back to their lives.  Danny, who is in a state of shock due to narrowly escaping the Overlook with his life, has not spoken since the incident, but with the help of Dick Hallorann (Carl Lumbly), Danny learns how to trap the ghosts from the Overlook in his head.  Meanwhile, a group known as the True Knot, led by the mysterious Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), seeks those with the Shining in hopes of capturing their essence, which they refer to as Steam.  In 2011, Dan (Ewan McGregor) finds himself in a worse alcoholic state than his father, wandering from city to city in hopes of escaping rock bottom and himself.  As he settles into a small New Hampshire town, he meets Billy (Cliff Curtis), who helps Dan secure work and join an AA group in hopes of cleaning up his life.  At this time, Rose the Hat and her group discover Snakebite Andi (Emily Alyn Lind), a young and talented drifter who uses her Shining talents to teach men who prey on young girls a dangerous lesson, and after a little convincing, Rose convinces Andi to join the True Knot fold.  Eight years pass by, and while Dan is thriving in his attempt at a new life, the True Knot finds themselves starving due to a lack of discovering sources of Steam.  In a drastic measure, the group kidnaps a young boy named Bradley (Jacob Tremblay) and tortures and murders him for Steam, which awakens a young and powerful Shining user named Abra (Kyliegh Curran), causing a ripple effect that connects Abra to Dan.  As Abra urges Dan to assist her in discovering the whereabouts of Bradley and the True Knot, she also makes attempts at getting into Rose’s head, causing a collision course between Dan, Abra, the True Knot, and eventually, the Overlook Hotel.

The way that this film manages to play fan service to both Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick fans is a truly fascinating feat.  Instantly, we are immersed into the familiar world of the Overlook hotel, and the choice to cast actors who resemble the original cast of The Shining immediately washes the viewer in a sense of familiarity.  Much of the expositional backstory need is eliminated because we under the circumstances that led up to where the story begins, and with a basic understanding of what practitioners of the Shining are capable of, the table is set for a wide range of new characters with a wide range of Shining-based powers to explore.  The sense of familiarity to a horror of the past permeates throughout the story, with references from Danny’s past finding their way back into his life, as well as echoes of the past occurring constantly, with Dan replacing Jack Torrance in plenty of iconic situations.

The film pays tons of respect to both King and Kubrick in terms of lore expansion and callback moments.  Giving the Shining an almost Force-like need for balance creates a mystical tug of war between Dan and Abra and the True Knot, with tons of psychic psychological warfare taking place between Shining users in the form of trickery, deception and dangerous traps with real world consequences.  Several interesting ideas are presented during the course of the narrative, many of which I am still dwelling on at the moment.  For example, the idea that technology and medication can dull the gift of the Shining, while not an original idea in terms of ‘mysticism’ and evolution, is presented without the need for heavy-handed examples to be shown.  One line of dialogue that stuck with me involved Dan mentioning to Abra about Tony being his imaginary friend, to which Abra responds that she thought Dan was her imaginary friend... does this mean that Tony is a real person that Dan never got the opportunity to cross paths with, simply because he didn’t understand his power at the time?  The idea that the Overlook cycles its victims through the numerous roles it casts its ghost in is also a fascinating one, as Jack replaces Lloyd, and Dan ultimately replaces Jack.

Normally, I wouldn’t go for what could be boiled down to big-budget fan-fiction, but execution of Doctor Sleep checks every box I imagine I would have.  The use of a nearly identical score keeps the ominous energy of The Shining present, but the bigger world expands the sense of danger.  Watching characters in the film return to the Overlook is crazy, as the callbacks to locations throughout are stunning and startling in terms of the way the original look and energy is re-created... sort of like a nostalgia aesthetic was the idea.  For fans of Kubrick’s interpretation of The Shining, and those who noticed its obvious influence on King’s dive into Doctor Sleep as a novel, this film is an answer to their prayers.

Ewan McGregor and his attempts at controlling his fear of what he’s capable of are portrayed well, especially with the red herring of alcoholism being the possible issue in his life (at least to strangers).  Kyliegh Curran does a great job of exuding confidence and curiosity in her powers that she does not fully understand, which in turn gets her in over her head before she realizes.  Rebecca Ferguson is captivating as Rose the Hat, using a magnetic personality to draw people into her fold.  Cliff Curtis is a solid representation for the support system that McGregor seeks, as well as serving as an audience avatar in a world full of mystic characters.  Emily Alyn Lind and Zahn McClarmon are standout members of the True Knot, paralleling off of one another as a showboat and someone who plays their cards close to the chest.  Carl Lumbly, Alex Essoe, Henry Thomas and Roger Dale Floyd manage to ring the bells of familiarity in their roles as the iconic characters from The Shining, and do so without upsetting our train of thought or enjoyment of the film.  Appearances by Bruce Greenwood, Jocelin Donahue, Zackary Momoh, Jacob Tremblay, the numerous members of the True Knot, and a cameo by Danny Lloyd round things out.

This film surprised me, despite there not being much definitive out in terms of critical or crowd reaction.  I went into it expecting to enjoy the experience, but I was surprised that Doctor Sleep left the impression on me that it did.  Look for this one to more than likely end up in my top ten of the year.