Doctor Sleep

Rated R

4 stars

Inner demons, in whatever form they may take addiction, ghosts, vampires are a reliable go-to for what really scares us.

In the case of Doctor Sleep, combining all three doesnt bode well, but makes for a good film.

Writer and director Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) was faced with a problem when tackling his newest project how do you make a sequel when the original novel and subsequent film adaptation are so vastly different?

Considering the conundrum, Flanagan chose the only scenario that would work, taking the best elements of Stephen Kings 1977 novel The Shining and combining them with the changes that Stanley Kubrick incorporated into the 1980 film version.

The result is a big-screen attempt at Kings 2013 sequel novel that straddles the fence and courts fans of both versions. Mostly, it works.

Doctor Sleep tells the tale of a grown Danny Torrence (Ewan McGregor), the little boy with the big ability who escaped the evil of the Overlook Hotel as a child. The ensuing years have not been easy ones, as Danny runs from the shadows of his father, the ghosts who continue to pursue him, and the genetic curse of addiction. A young girl (a gifted Kyliegh Curran) with similar psychic gifts (called shining) forces Danny to fight his demons once and for all, personified by a cult of energy vampires known as the True Knot.

While serving as a direct sequel, the films in question are very different The Shining was a straight-up ghost story; Doctor Sleep is a tale of vampire hunters. The Shining was claustrophobic, with only a handful of characters and a boxed-in feeling that grew more magnificently unbearable as the story progressed. Doctor Sleep is much more expansive and has more room to breathe; multiple storylines and characters jump across the country (as well as in and out of the Great Beyond).

As a result, the creeping horror of its predecessor does not permeate Doctor Sleep as effectively. If The Shining is a childs nightmare, then this new film is an inspection and dissection of that nightmare sacrificing terror for the sake of resolution.

That is not to say this film is not scary. The savagery of the True Knot can be downright chilling, and the heartbeat pulsing throughout the entire film tells the viewer that a return to the oppressive Overlook Hotel, and the ghosts that dwell within, is inevitable.

When it comes, the payoff is both satisfactory and frustrating. The sense of nihilism also threatens at times to be too much of a bummer (The whole world is one big hospice with fresh air, Danny says early in the film).

For nostalgias sake, Flanagan revisits Kubricks directing style, along with the familiar soundtrack, without imitating either to the point of redundancy. The acting is less over-the-top, and while McGregor and Curran give fine performances, the real standout is Rebecca Ferguson as the head of the vampiric cabal, Rose the Hat. She truly becomes the films boogeyman unrelenting, vicious, and diabolical.

Doctor Sleep had a myriad of challenges in the transition to the big screen. With a few missteps (mostly in the finale, as is the fate of so much of Kings work), it makes a return to one of Kings most iconic settings a thoroughly enjoyable ride.

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