Dr. Sleep is the long awaited sequel to one of the most infamous horror movies of all time, The Shining. Following up on a previous movie so great is both ambitious and risky. However, director Mike Flanagan decided to take the risk in creating the sequel to author Stephen King and director Stanley Kubrik’s The Shining. This film has been anticipated by so many, especially those of us who are Steven King lovers- and there was quite a bit of debate over whether the sequel would follow in the footsteps of Steven King’s novel or Stanley Kubriks adaptation of the book (as many of us know the story’s in each were very different), and while King was not exactly a fan of Kubrik’s work on The Shining, he actually approved of Flanagan’s adaptation prior to filming Doctor Sleep. In addition to this he took to defense of the movie after the box office numbers were lower than expected tweeting the following:
The Story
Doctor Sleep is originally a novel written by Steven King set as a sequel to his previous book The Shining. The story is built around Danny, the little boy from The Shining, who has now grown up and is suppressing his “shine” after being haunted by his experience at the Overlook Hotel in which his father was driven to insanity, and attempted to kill he and his mother. As he copes with his traumatic childhood and attempts to start over, a young girl named Abra seeks his help in getting rid of a group who feeds off of their powers.
Comparing the book to the movie, both begin very differently- however this is due to the ending of Kubrik’s version of The Shining, in which the hotel remains in tact at the end, whereas in the original novel the hotel is burnt to the ground with Danny’s father in it. Because of this vast difference among many others, Flanagan had a very hard task in following King’s adaptation while also carrying on from Kubrik’s- but he did succeed in more ways than one in successfully satisfying Steven King himself, and also editing the story to remain true to the previous movie as well.
The Rundown
At first I was skeptical about the idea of this movie as I knew how far of a stretch the first movie (at Kubrik’s hands) strayed from a novel as wonderful as it was. Yet after watching, I was left with a surprising sense of satisfaction from both the ending and the adaptation which incorporated elements from the book and the previous movie. Mike Flanagan did an outstanding job in holding true to both, and sent chills running down my spine as the story unfolded, and as I was able to recognize elements from Kubrik and King. This was a very tricky movie to take on in a number of ways, one being as I previously mentioned the differing endings from the author and the director, but also because there was a great deal of stigma surrounding the film to begin with considering it would be unable to truly follow Steven King’s version, let alone to create a sequel to one of the most renowned horror films of all time. But director Mike Flanagan really was triumphant in his courageous jump to the making of this film, by not only the opinion of the Steven King admirer in me, but also to the author himself- a huge success in itself considering how many movie adaptations King was disappointed in in previous films.
The Takeaway
Overall, if you are looking for a solid scare, if you’re a Steven King lover, or if you just want a scary flick to take your boyfriend to that isn’t cheesy, this is a film worth seeing. Doctor Sleep will leave you shaken, and with a sense of satisfaction at the end. Although, I do highly recommend (if you have not done so already) watching The Shining prior to seeing this, as it can be viewed as a stand alone movie, but the connections you will make to the previous film make for a much more interactive and riveting viewing experience. It is a must see.