Doctor Sleep – Film Review

Doctor Sleep

GPA: 3.6/4.0

Set almost 40 years after The Shining, Dan Torrance (McGregor) meets a young girl with psychic powers and they have to stop an evil cult that’s obsessed with immortality known as The True Knot.  Based on the novel of the same name written by Stephen King.

The Shining from 1980 was a great and hypnotic movie, and I was excited to hear that this movie was getting made.  Mike Flanagan was the director of this movie, and Ewan McGregor was cast as the main character.  The trailers were really great, and this movie didn’t disappoint.

The Characters and A Story That Showed Both Sides:

Easily the most interesting characters in the movie were Dan Torrance and the girl named Abra Stone.  Dan Torrance’s arch was well told from start to finish, and you were invested into him from his troubled alcoholism to getting cleaned up.  Abra Stone had some good depth.  The main villain Rose the Hat was a solid villain.  She didn’t have much backstory, but that’s okay since her motivation made sense for the story.  The film focused on the perspectives of both our protagonist and our antagonist, which was what made both characters and also the story compelling.  Thankfully, this was a Great Villain = Great Movie situation.

The Acting:

Ewan McGregor gave what is possibly his best performance between this and his performances in the third season of Fargo.  Rebecca Ferguson was believable as Rose the Hat, and Cliff Curtis was great as Billy Freeman (a landlord of the apartment that Dan moved to).  Kyliegh Curran was stellar as Abra, and this was easily one of the better performances from a younger actor/actress.

Mike Flanagan’s Direction Along with the Story:

This was the next Stephen King film adaptation that Mike Flanagan directed after Gerald’s Game, and Mike Flanagan deserves props thanks to his exceptional direction.  The aesthetic look, the unfolding of the story, and the direction of actors were all impressive.  The story itself was captivating as a character piece and also as a psychological horror movie.  It had some neat surprises, and the atmosphere/tension was oftentimes top notch.  The psychological aspects of getting into a character’s head were done well.  The flashback scenes worked.  The 151 minute runtime was slow but in an intentional way.

Cinematography:

Michael Fimognari was the cinematographer here, and this movie was appropriately muted.  The muted color palette worked for the film’s style, and the lighting and framing were first-rate.  The production design was some of the best of the year.

The Newton Brothers and Their Music:

I remember when I was critical of The Bye Bye Man music score by The Newton Brothers, but their music impressed me more in movies like Hush, Gerald’s Game, and now Doctor Sleep.  The way that it used the original theme from The Shining was well utilized.

Visuals:

The practical and make-up effects were fantastic, and there were some good CG effects as well.  However, there was a sequence involving transporting to another place in your imagination that looked kind of green-screened.

Side Villains Didn’t Live Up to The Main Villain:

As intriguing of a character Rose the Hat was, the side villains were unfortunately one-note and generic.  There just wasn’t much depth to them, and they were easily the weakest things about the film.  I’m not asking for a whole backstory film, but they could have had more to them.

Doctor Sleep was an excellent sequel/addition to The Shining with some compelling characters and great atmosphere. Mike Flanagan is certainly a director to look out for as far as Stephen King adaptations go.