Doctor Sleep is the theatrical feature film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Stephen King. While the book served as a sequel to The Shining, the movie is presented as a sequel to the Stanley Kubrick feature film from 1980 and picks up shortly after the events of the original. After this brief prologue which sets up the aftermath and introduces the new villains led by Rose, The Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), we jump more or less to the present and learn that Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) has suffered deep psychological and emotional trauma that has lead to him drinking to suppress his shining abilities while trapping the ghosts from the Overlook Hotel that have relentlessly pursued him in the decades since. Danny is also visited by the spirit of Dick Hollerann (Carl Lumbly), who informs him that there is a debt he owes to a child with the same ability as his only far stronger. Just as Dick has mentored him even after the events of the first film, now is the chance for Danny to face his demons head on as he struggles to keep safe a girl from a group of quasi immortal beings that feed upon the shining of children to cheat death. This culminates in a battle at the Overlook Hotel.
Doctor Sleep is a terrific sequel to The Shining that pays respect to the book it is adopted from while offering a surprisingly potent sequel to Kubrick’s horror masterpiece. The casting is impeccable, the tone is set pitch perfect and the villains are truly horrible and deserve the fate they have coming. Doctor Sleep has already opened abroad a week ago and opens here in the States on Friday, November 8, 2019. Top shelf entertainment. See it on the big screen.
(C) Copyright 2019 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
