DOCTOR SLEEP FILM REVIEW
Doctor Sleep is yet another victim in the now seemingly endless tragedy of over-hyped films. It is a good film, and if you managed to go into it cold, chances are that you thoroughly enjoyed it. If, like me on the other hand, you were exposed to a large amount hype and praise, there is a good chance that you came out feeling ever so slightly disappointed. In an honest enthusiasm for the work in question, it is often the case that people raise expectations in the minds of others to a degree that the work simply can not live up to. A part of my reviewing process is to help correct such expectations and to bring people back to a level where they can enjoy the film for what it actually is rather than be disappointed by what they thought it should be. As such, I can tell you that I do not believe Doctor Sleep to be the best horror film of the year. While I have not personally seen all horror films released this year, and therefore can not say with certainty what film that will be for me, I can tell you that Midsommar already outranks Doctor Sleep in this category. If you increase the size of the category to include series’, one of Mike Flanagan’s other works, The Haunting of Hill House, becomes a true contender.
Doctor Sleep is the story of an older Danny (who now just goes by Dan), who has fallen into alcoholism, a reflection of his father, as a means of dealing with the tragedies that took place within The Shining and dulling the effects of the power of shining. Now recovering, and attending AA meetings, the power of shining is rising to the surface once again. Through the shining he comes into contact with a young girl who also has this gift, and through her he becomes entangled in a confrontation with the True Knot. The True Knot are a group of nomadic travelers who have expanded their life-spans unnaturally through consuming the power of the shining by torturing and ultimately killing their victims, and who will stop at nothing to attain this power and continue to prolong their lives.
Doctor Sleep, the film, is a worthy and worthwhile adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name, on which it was based. Yes, as is the case with all films, there are some liberties taken. In walking the line between being an adaptation of the novel and a sequel to Kubrick’s film, it does an admirable job. There is one tweak that I would have made, which I go into in another post here on Medium entitled “SHOULD THE OVERLOOK HOTEL EXIST WITHIN THE MOVIE VERSION OF DOCTOR SLEEP?” If you are more than passingly familiar with the works of Stephen King, you understand that there is a multiverse in which his works are related, linked through the Dark Tower, in which events are often similar but slightly different within these different universes. If you take the view that the events of the film Doctor Sleep and the novel Doctor Sleep take place within similar, but not the same, universes, then you can easily rectify these differences within your own mind.
If you have not yet seen Doctor Sleep, do not to go into it with heightened expectations, but rather just let it unfold in front of you for what it is, and you will be sure to have a good time. All in all, Doctor Sleep the movie is a Theater Worthy film. For a deeper understanding of my ratings system, be sure to read my post entitled “MORON ENTERTAINMENT FILM RATINGS GUIDE.”
SPOILER REACTIONS
Hearing the music from the Stanley Kubrick film playing over the Warner Brothers logo as the film began filled me with a nostalgic joy, enthusiasm and anticipation for what I was about to see. Well done.
I immediately recognized, and was pleasantly surprised by, doctor John Dalton’s office being a replica of Mr. Ullman’s office in The Shining. It was the placement of the “red book” (in this case a notebook) on his desk that pulled it all together for me and triggered shivers of joy to run through my body. The unexpected placement of this homage, rather than the much more obvious ones later at the actual hotel, made it a much more powerful and effective treat.
I am uncertain, to say the least, about making the actors playing Jack and Wendy Torrance look like Nicholson and Duvall, and having them perform with the same mannerisms and attempting the voices of the actors just went too far. It may have seemed a good idea on paper, but having seen it, it just did not work for me. All it did was serve to pull me out of the film. It would have been better to just serve the nature of the characters, rather than the actors themselves.
The defeat of Rose the Hat was much too brief and therefore seemed much too easy. It needed to be a drawn out struggle. And when Dan realized that he now had to deal with the entities he had unleashed to defeat Rose, it was not dramatic enough. I needed to see the look of true terror on Dan’s face when he realized what he had actually done. Instead, it was understated.
see my Medium post entitled “SHOULD THE OVERLOOK HOTEL EXIST WITHIN THE MOVIE VERSION OF DOCTOR SLEEP?” for more. . .
