Sequel to The Shining (1980) by Kubrick with Jack Nicholson, Doctor Sleep (2019) is about an older Danny helping a young girl that also has ‘the shine’ (a magic power that helps them see things that aren’t there and can make them do things that others can’t) in hopes to get rid of the ‘immortal’ people that use their ‘shine’ to kill young kids in order to live longer. They end up going back to the Overlook Hotel to try and end it all since the hotel itself is a ‘shine’ entity.
The film stars Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Kyliegh Curran as the three main characters that we follow and written and dricted by Mike Flanagan and Stephen King. We get three different perspectives – Danny’s alcoholism journey and his flashbacks, Abra’s story with her ‘shine,’ and Rose The Hat’s evil plot to live forever with her gang. The different perspectives give the viewer more to look for in Rose’s character and questions if she has good in her and why she is doing this ultimately. I think my favorite was her and her gang’s scenes. It might have been grotesque since they are evil and kill young kids with ‘the shine’, but it’s interesting and makes you root for Abra and Danny’s side more.
It’s filled with that ambiguity that The Shining had and mastered, but this film was not a direct sequel. It was it’s own plot, with The Shining mixed in so it could make it full circle with the plot. I’m not mad about it as I love The Shining, but had it been it’s own film completely, I think it would of been more successful. I feel like the Hotel was just thrown in their for the fans, but then again, it’s in the novel. It just seemed like it was their for fan service and while that can be entertaining and fun, I think it falls short this time around…. it’s a shame.
I would advise to NOT watch The Shining before seeing Doctor Sleep because it will get you to compare the two so much that it will fall short. That’s what I did and I regret it. Like I mentioned above, it would have been more successful if it were it’s own film and story completely. The flashbacks of Danny and his mother, doesn’t have anything to do with the film and has no impact since the acting was pretty terrible. Abra’s storyline was more in tune with the Doctor Sleep plot, but doesn’t have any impact on anything else especially in the end. 
The ending makes nothing matter.
The acting of the main character’s were average. The ‘scares’ were there, but minimal and would not scare the average audience. The scenes from the hotel were entertaining and fan service, but I enjoyed it still since I love The Shining and it’s iconic bloody elevator and woman from the bathtub scenes.
What’s good?
- The Shining scenes that are classic in it’s own right
- Rose The Hat is interesting, disturbing, and fun to watch
- The different perspectives
- The Doctor Sleep plot itself is actually and interesting story, but can be muddled with The Shining
- There are questions from the first film answered
What’s bad?
- The flashbacks have terrible acting
- Not that thrilling or scary as the trailers made it out to be
- Can be slow at times and the pay off isn’t good
Don’t watch The Shining beforehand and don’t expect magic and terror from this film, but can be entertaining still with scenes that hold it together. 7/10.
Knapp On The Go 