Horror cinema has evolved dramatically since 1980 and the release of the Jack Nicholson thriller. With this direct sequel 40 years in the making, it has the same thrill and suspense factors just like the previous film, but I still think that the Kubrick original is slightly better than this sequel.
Director Mike Flanagan is no stranger to thrillers and the horror scene. He is better known for his work on the Netflix show "The Haunting of Hill House". His take on this film is horrifying and lives up to the legacy of the original film. His vision of thrilling horror escapades goes deeper into the world Stephen King has created and while offering nostalgia to viewers who have seen the 1980 Kubrick horror masterpiece.
Playing adult Danny Torrence is none other than Ewan McGregor. McGregor does an outstanding job as the traumatically grown-up version of the character. His performance is nothing short of dramatic and sharp. Starring alongside McGregor, are Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Fallout) and young breakout star Kyliegh Curran.
Ferguson stars as the villain of the film in a menacing and hellbent on gaining immortality. Curran plays a young girl who has the same supernatural abilities as Dan Torrence. Their performances are all equally dark and terrifying, which I think audiences will be entertained by.
Scoring this horror-thriller flick are the Newton Brothers. They are also no stranger to the horror-suspense thriller scene. They have also worked on the hit show "The Haunting of Hill House". Their score is as haunting as the original films. With a new spin on Wendy Carlos', Rachel Elkinds', and Chuck Cirino's theme from the original film, their score is as dark and electric as the film itself.
It's been forty years since the world first saw the dark and horrifying "Overlook Hotel". Now return to the iconic world and hotel once again in this new film. This new film lives up to the original film and the Kubrick style overall. Audiences of the original film will no doubt enjoy this film even more now that this sequel dives deeper into the world of the "Shining" unlike anything ever before. Horror fans of old and new generations will be on the edge the whole time. This film does the original 1980 film justice in a menacingly thrilling fashion.
Poster courtesy of Warner Bros.
Rate: B
Director: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Kyliegh Curran
MPAA Rating: R (for disturbing and violent content, some bloody images, language, nudity and drug use)
Runtime: 2 Hours & 32 Minutes
Synopsis:
"Doctor Sleep" is the continuation of Danny Torrance's story 40 years after the terrifying events of Stephen King's The Shining. Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the "shine." Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality. Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra's innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before-at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.
