Back in 1980, “The Shining” was released, and it amassed an incredible audience, surpassing $44 million in the box office and receiving a Rotten Tomato rating of 85% and an even higher audience score of 93%. A little over three decades later, Stephen King published “Doctor Sleep,” a direct sequel to the cherished film and its novel.
If you happen to be one of the many fans the movie has acquired, you’ll be pleased to know the sequel will be taking on a visual appearance in theaters, under the direction of Mike Flanagan, on November 8.
“The Shining” was first a novel released in 1977, and it centered on Jack Torrance, his wife and their son, Danny, who move into the Overlook, a hotel possessed by multiple wicked paranormal entities. While Danny has telepathic abilities that prevent the apparitions to overtake him, Jack does not, and he is quickly possessed in an effort to kill his wife and son. Jack is forced into attacking Wendy, the wife, and battering his own face with a mallet, destroying the last of his actual personality and leaving behind the ghost of the hotel’s manager. When the hotel’s boiler explodes and the building is destroyed, Jack’s body is lost among the scraps, and Danny and Wendy successfully escape the scene.
In 2013, however, King published “Doctor Sleep,” which follows the events of its prequel with a center on Danny. Mimicking his father’s actions, he becomes an alcoholic before taking a position in a hospice. His psychic abilities resurface and he uses them to assist dying patients – adopting the title of “Doctor Sleep.” Similar to Danny, a young girl named Abra Stone acquires supernatural powers and her shining ends up even stronger than his. When Abra discovers a group of quasi-immortals that wander the country searching for individuals with similiar abilities, she becomes their target and attempts to avoid the True Knot group, seeking help from Danny. Together, they create a plan to control the group’s leader, Rose the Hat, and Danny releases diseased steam he had taken from Abra’s dying grandmother. Doing so, he kills all of the group and, with the help of his dead father, he pushes Rose off a platform to her death. The story concludes with Jack finally finding peace and, in the epilogue, Danny celebrates 15 years of sobriety.
The sequel hasn’t only been praised by fans of its predecessor, but also by Stephen King himself. On Twitter, he made a point to commend the film, going as far as to say that the movie is “a hell of a scary one.” While King sends his approval to the “Doctor Sleep” adaptation, he reportedly was very opposed to “The Shining.”
Aside from the plot and the fact that 39 years have passed since the motion picture’s first appearance, this sequel has also attracted attention from its many trailers — many, of which, show several of the easter eggs implemented, including the popular REDRUM aspect of the first movie.