Doctor Sleep (2019)
Oddly enough, the latest of Stephen King's book adaptations is one of the toughest reviews I've had to write. I have a lot of conflicted thoughts and emotions about this film, and, largely, this is because it is a sequel to a very classic film - one of my favourites in fact - and, in my opinion, the best horror film of all time. Unlike many sequels, however, Doctor Sleep is a legitimate continuation of the story as it was penned by King himself in 2013 (whether he should have done so is an entirely separate discussion). Now, writer/director, Mike Flanagan, had a uniquely difficult task as he decided to make this film a sequel to both The Shining the book and the film - and for those King diehards, you know that there are significant differences between the two. Lastly, is the fact that The Shining was made by one of the all-time greats, Stanley Kubrick, and no matter how much you want to, or try to, you cannot help but compare Doctor Sleep to The Shining to each other because they take place in the same world (and have a number of artistic and plot overlaps). All in all, I did actually enjoy the film quite a lot, despite knowing that it would never come close to the height of The Shining.
Now, for more SPOILERY discussion...
As mentioned, there are a few significant differences between The Shining book and movie that directly affect an adaptation of Doctor Sleep. Foremost is that in the book the hotel is ultimately destroyed when Jack forgets to reset the boiler during his downward spiral. On the other hand, in the film the hotel remains intact. In the final act of Doctor Sleep the book, Danny and Abra have a showdown in the campgrounds that have been made on the old grounds of the hotel. In the film, however, as the hotel is still standing, this showdown takes place in the hotel itself. As such, Flanagan, in his film, takes the opportunity to directly revisit Kubrick's film, bringing back characters, locations and imagery straight out of the classic. It is here that many fans will decide whether they love or hate this film. Returning to this beloved world is a risky task and unless done perfectly it could easily leave a sour taste. In most regards, I think it was done in fine fashion. However, that Danny is able to 'fight off' the hotel for moments in order to let Abra escape seemed like a cheap plot convenience and not true to the original story. Flanagan also recasts all of the stars of the original film for certain scenes in Doctor Sleep. While I surprisingly thought they all worked okay, I did find the actor who played Jack quite distracting. Unlike the others who are able to emulate the original actors' voices well, Henry Thomas, who plays Jack, does not sound anything like Jack Nicholson nor does he carry the same gravitas as the legendary Nicholson.
I realize that I haven't discussed many of the core facets of this film. All of the stars are quite strong throughout, especially the always-great Ewan McGregor as the tortured Danny, as well as Rebecca Ferguson and newcomer Kyliegh Curran. Doctor Sleep is the kind of film I could talk about for a long, long time. Ultimately, I think it does succeed more than it stumbles. But one cannot really fault the film for not being completely perfect due to the ridiculously large shoes it has to step into. If you are a fan of Stephen King, The Shining and horror films (and are able to go into the film without prejudice) then there is quite a lot to enjoy here.
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