Doctor Sleep

A very different film compared to The Shining. I've heard it sticks closer to the book, though I haven’t read it myself. You can feel the difference right from the atmosphere — while The Shining leans more into psychological horror, Doctor Sleep drifts towards a sort of mysterious fantasy. It makes sense, though, given Stephen King’s style. Once I adjusted to this shift, I really enjoyed watching Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson, especially with the film’s nods to the original classic. Mike Flanagan was the perfect choice to helm this sequel; his respect for The Shining is clear, and the subtle callbacks are a real treat. (27/10/2021)

King's The Shining is quite an interesting long-running phenomenon, now comprising two novels (from 1977 and 2013), both of which have been made into films, the first also as a miniseries, and there's one more TV project to come, apparently called Overlook. So how good is the film version of Doctor Sleep? It’s a decent modern King film, with an excellent McGregor and a declaration of love for the original The Shining. It’s comparable to the new versions of It or Pet Sematary. (01/01/2022)

This is what a movie must look like for people who are always complaining about things from their favorite books being left out of movie adaptations. And in doing so, it's the perfect proof of how false their argument is. Doctor Sleep [very aptly titled in the three-hour director's cut] is a literal adaptation in a killer TV treatment that could practically be described as a video book. The film is nominally divided into chapters (which I last saw, perhaps, in Sphere); most of the running time is taken up with two characters locking themselves into several minutes of static dialogue consisting of two shots. Then, in the finale, the film does stray from the book's premise, but only to follow an awkward virtual tour of the Overlook Hotel with one stilted quote after another. And really any recollections of the original Shining this film awakens make it look all the worse standing next to them. Because this is the complete anti-Kubrick. (11/02/2020)

A great adaptation, faithful enough to the book to please its fans, and different enough for it to tie in with the end of Kubrick’s movie. McGregor is excellent as Danny, but the sexy Rebecca Ferguson’s performance as Rose the Hat is just heaven. Much better than in the book. The climax at the hotel, logically different from the book, is a playful variation on the original Shining, with an ending that closes the circle. (15/02/2020)

A very faithful adaptation of a book I enjoyed very much, that builds on one of the best films I've ever seen. The courage of the makers of Doctor Sleep was tremendous – to continue Kubrick's story, but at the same time be true to King and make more than an epilogue to The Shining. They succeeded brilliantly, thanks largely to Mike Flanagan, who straddled the line between King and Kubrick, standing firm, and I can only thank him for it. When you see all the original and very impressively executed mind travel (and combat), the atmosphere, which is much better than the trailers suggested and relies not on scares but on honest suspense... That's exactly how I imagined it when reading the book, and yet the book lacked the film's biggest trump card – the Overlook. I could find a scene or two to fault, but overall I'm so pleased with Doctor Sleep that I can't, or rather won't. The ending is a downright treat for anyone who has not only seen The Shining, but also read it... Notto mention the amazing Ewan McGregor. (15/11/2019)