I just got home from seeing Doctor Sleep (2019) and before I do a deep dive on this baby, I want to share with y’all my history with Stephen King. Long story short, I’m an avid King reader. To elaborate on this a little further, the first King book I picked up was, in fact, The Shining. I was thirteen years old, extremely familiar with the Stanley Kubrick film, and knew very little about the drama surrounding that whole situation.
For those of you that don’t know, Stephen King isn’t the biggest fan of Kubrick’s take on The Shining. He has been incredibly vocal about it, and upon reading his novel I can totally see why. The Shining (1980) was essentially The Shining in name only. I could get into all the differences between the two, but I suggest y’all just read the book and see for yourselves.
That being said, I’m still a fan of Kubrick’s film. It is undeniably an essential staple of the entire horror genre, but I didn’t want Doctor Sleep to be a sequel it. Yeah, yeah… It technically is, because adaptations, yadda-yadda-yadda… I just really dug the hell out of the book and when I heard they were making it into a movie, I was praying that it’d remain true to the source material, not become a ‘chaos-at-the-Overlook-hotel-part-2’ deal. Now, I don’t do trailers so I went into this baby completely dry of knowledge, and came out smiling – It was very true to the novel, and I think this has been the primary bone of contention for several genre fans.
Now, if you’re in the camp of ‘seen-it-but-still-hate-it’, then I cannot help you. However, if you’re on the fence and are a little apprehensive due to negative reviews, hear me out. I have no doubts you love The Shining, I mean who doesn’t? I’m certain you feel that nothing could ever replicate the essence of that film, and you’re entirely right… You must keep this in mind upon entering Doctor Sleep. It isn’t supposed to be another take on the same story, it is more-so about the lasting effects of the events that occurred. The Overlook Hotel isn’t the central focus here, the story no longer belongs to it – It belongs to Danny Torrance.
If you’re anything like me, you’re curious about where characters end up after the credits roll. I think this is a major reason why I enjoyed this story so much. You get to see the man Danny becomes, no longer an innocent child but an imperfect adult. You bear witness to him understanding the ability his has been gifted with, and how much of a hinderance it can become.
Much like Danny, the hotel has aged, too. This dug up a deep-seated nostalgia in me. Venturing back into the dilapidated walls of The Overlook felt like I trudging through the depths of my childhood, not unlike the character of Danny himself.
For those who are die-hard Kubrick fans, there is much to be loved here as well. Several callbacks to the original can be spotted, and made for one hell of enjoyable ride for me (peep that interview scene with Danny Torrance, for example). All your favourite ghoulies and ghosties make a return, too. I’ll have that tub lady forever burned into my brain even deeper now, no doubt.
All this sentimental stuff aside, there truly isn’t much to complain about here overall. The acting is well executed, the attention to detail impeccable, the horror so grisly in moments that I struggled to watch… An entirely different beast from its predecessor, sure, but a terrifyingly entrancing one none-the-less. Mike Flanagan manages to amalgamate the most extraordinary parts from the masterpieces by both Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick, piecing them together to create an impeccable balance that has long been overdue.