Doctor Sleep is prolific horror director Mike Flanagan's (Ouija: Origin of Evil, The Haunting of Hill House) sequel to one of the most iconic horror films of all time, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). Unfortunately, it's a snooze-fest.
Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Stephen King, the film stars Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), Rebecca Ferguson (The Greatest Showman) and newcomer Kyliegh Curran, and is a continuation of Danny Torrance's story 40 years after the terrifying events at the Overlook Hotel.
After years of struggling to overcome the psychological scars from his time at the Overlook, Dan (McGregor) finally finds peace when he is given the chance to share his supernatural gift to help others. Dan’s world is turned upside down when he encounters Abra (Curran), a teenager with the same powerful extrasensory power known as the “shine.”
Abra and Dan soon join forces to defeat the sinister Rose the Hat (an electrifying Rebecca Ferguson) and her followers, The True Knot, a group of supernatural beings who feed off the shine of the innocents in their quest for immortality.
Flanagan's film is an engaging, if decidedly contrived horror fil that leans too heavily on the trademark jump-scares of every recent mainstream horror movie.
Kubrick's classic had an air of ambiguity between what’s merely imagined and reality. Flanagan, unfortunately, appears to focus on far more obvious supernatural elements.
Despite all its best efforts, Doctor Sleep ultimately lacks the confidence and belief in its own story arc, and can’t resist frequent nods and references to its far superior predecessor. Bizarrely, Flanagan even goes as far as introducing lookalike actors to play characters from the original film, a device which is jarring and lazy.
At two and a half hours running time, Doctor Sleep does also seem to be in no rush to get to where it was heading all along, the infamous Overlook Hotel. Sadly though, by the time we’ve reached that juncture in the proceedings, there’s very little left to care or get remotely excited about.
Overall, Doctor Sleep did just what its title promised. It sent me to sleep.