Written by Jacob Kielan, Staff Writer
Doctor Sleep is a sequel to the 1980 horror classic The Shining that legendary Stanley Kubrick directed. Mike Flanagan takes the helm in the new lm, which is based on Stephen King’s 2013 dark fantasy horror novel and was released in theaters on Nov. 8, 2019.
About 30 years after The Shining first showed in theaters, Flanagan has the daunting task of pleasing the fans of Kubrick’s The Shining and satisfying King, the author of both horror novels.
With a small budget of only $45 million, Flanagan and crew definitely knocked this sequel out of the park. In just its opening weekend, it already has earned $25 million.
The movie starts by introducing the main antagonist Rose the Hat who lures a little girl with her shining. Both Rose and the little girl have shine power, first referenced in The Shining by character Dick Hallorann, the head chef of the Overlook Hotel, when he tells a young Danny Torance that he has a unique power. The shine is a power that allows certain people to use their minds to do almost anything, from controlling minds to predicting the future or to locating someone. But Rose the Hat intends to use her shine for nefarious purposes that will ultimately give her extra life.
Even though Doctor Sleep arrives 30 years after The Shining, lm producers choose the right actors to replace the old ones who were either too old to make the sequel or just aren’t around any- more. Jack Torance, originally played by Academy Award winning actor Jack Nicholson in The Shining, is now performed by Henry Thomas, who does a good job. The character Torance, a recovered alcoholic, was young Danny’s dad who became crazy at the iso- lated Overlook Hotel in which he and his family were caretakers.
In The Shining, Torance succumbs to the isolation and powerful ghosts.
Wendy, Torance’s wife and Danny’s mom, was played by Shelly Duvall in the original lm. In Dr. Sleep, she is replaced by Alex Essoe, who cloned Duvall’s performance in the short scenes where we see her and young Danny after they escape the Over- look.
In Dr. Sleep, The Overlook ghosts still haunt young Danny who is played by Roger Dale Floyd in this sequel, but the ghost of Dick Halloran tells him he can trap the ghosts by using his shine. Years later in 2013, Danny is a grown man and played by Ewan McGregor. Series of events lead him back to the Overlook for a classic battle of good versus evil.
The sets on Dr. Sleep are exceptional as lmmakers impressively recreate the original 1980 Overlook. They even use similar shots from The Shining; it is so perfect. From the casting, to the acting, to the sets and different shot angles, Dr. Sleep shines. The movie isn’t better than The Shining, but it’s an exceptionally well done sequel to one of the greatest horror movies ever made. I give it five out of five stars.