Will you be able to sleep again? Or will Redrum haunt your dreams?
Doctor Sleep takes the most iconic elements of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and blends them with Stephen King’s original vision to make them shine. The film stars Ewan McGregor as a melancholy adult Danny Torrance, Rebecca Ferguson as the nightmarish Rose The Hat, and Kyliegh Curran as the bright and brave Abra Stone.
The film connects us to Dan’s past, reminding the viewers of the horrors of the Overlook Hotel. We get to visit this hellish hotel 39 years after the events of The Shining through recreations that are so effortless they can almost be swapped out for the originals. We empathize with Dan’s past and hope his future will turn around. He gets this chance when he meets Abra Stone, a young biracial girl who shares his gift of clairvoyance. We see some familiar faces and not all of them are friendly (yes, the bathtub lady is back- EEK!). The cross-dissolve transitions used also harken back to the first film. The director, Mike Flanagan gives the film The Haunting of Hill House vibes with its foreboding gloomy aesthetic and members from the show’s cast. The soundtrack gleams with tension. When the music is combined with the film’s dark themes, it builds excitement and anxiety. The extent of shining power is shown through marvelous special effects, emphasizing the otherworldliness of this ability. The plot intrigues the audience because of Rose The Hat and her group’s nefarious agenda, filling their devoid lives with the shining of children, referred to as their “steam”.
Abra Stone and Dan Torrance are both selfless and fearless. Their abilities and kind hearts put them at risk because they want to save others and fight evil. The gift of the shining is even more special in Abra’s case because she is a young women of color. It is inspiring to see more diversity in horror and thrillers where Black characters are often seen as tokens. Her relationship with Dan is akin to Dan and Halloran’s relationship.
Dan is put into similar situations that his father failed to recover from. He struggles from alcoholism like his father but overcomes it. He also gets placed in parallel circumstances when returning to the Overlook Hotel as an adult- but I won’t elaborate because it will spoil the film. This film shows that you can redeem yourself by not making the same mistakes as your parents, forge a new path by unpacking your past traumas, and inspire others with your shine.