1980s THE SHINING, directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel by Stephen King, is not only one of the best horror films of all time, but just one of the best films of all time. It’s my favorite horror movie as well. But we’re going to talk about that in a later review this year. Now it’s time to talk about DOCTOR SLEEP, THE SHINING’S absolutely unnecessary sequel that came out in 2017.
We here at SpoilerFreeReviews are big fans of Mike Flanagan. When we first started doing our Halloween holiday collection reviews, we wrote A LOT about his stuff. Check out our reviews of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER from 2023, THE MIDNIGHT CLUB from 2022, and this discussion of several of his works way back in 2021. It was four years ago, in that very discussion, that I stated, “I think he did the best with what was given for DOCTOR SLEEP,” and at that time, I meant it. But upon further reflection, I’ve come to loathe this movie with every fiber of my being.
I know King doesn’t like the film adaptation of THE SHINING, so perhaps when he published DOCTOR SLEEP, the novel, in 2013, he hoped he’d get a more faithful screen adaptation of it than Kubrick and co-screenwriter Diane Johnson gave the first film over 45 years ago. But I don’t want Danny’s story as an adult. Of course, he’s going to be fucked-up from the events of THE SHINING! I mean, who wouldn’t be?! DOCTOR SLEEP removes all of the mystery around what happened at the Overlook Hotel to Danny, Jack, Wendy, and Dick.
I haven’t read King’s DOCTOR SLEEP novel, so my review here is purely based on what we see on screen. I find just about every character to be annoying, whether it’s Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) or the cult of misfits that are obsessed with seeking out those who “shine.” Young actress Kyliegh Curran plays Abra, a little girl who is a lot like Danny. She’s the one person in the film I feel empathy for. And then every adult around her makes terrible choices for her and continually puts her in harm’s way.
And there’s the crew that is obsessed with “The Shining,” led by Rebecca Ferguson as Rosie the Hat and Zahn McClarnon as Crow Daddy. These are both strong, capable actors whom I enjoy in many other works. Their characters here feel like they could have come from any random King novel from THE STAND or THE DARK TOWER series. They’re goofy tropes of themselves who are never quite creepy enough and absolutely never scary. The longer this film goes on (the theatrical cut is 2.5 hours, and the director’s cut is over 3 hours), the more I just wanted to grab every one of them and throw them in therapy.
This Halloween season, watch THE SHINING. It’s currently streaming on HBO Max and AMC. Come back later this month and read my review of it here! But whatever you do, stay far, far away from DOCTOR SLEEP and don’t let it ruin your enjoyment of the original.
DOCTOR SLEEP is available on Hulu.
