Mike Flanagan’s ‘DOCTOR SLEEP’ (2019) – 5 Years Later

Some books deserve a film adaptation. Most of those films are directed around Stephen King novels. Many of his writings terrorize people in their sleep. He is the king of nightmares and wears it well from cameos to collaborating with other legends in their field of films. Stephen King has done it all. I never thought I would get into a Shining sequel. It was one of the best books I have read. Doctor Sleep is a genius idea. I watch the movie several times a month, at this point, it is background noise while I write.

This year Doctor Sleep turns 5 years old. It’s an anniversary everyone involved should be proud of.

Synopsis

Years following the horrors of his childhood, an adult Danny Torance (Ewan McGregor) has made a mess of his life, self medicating He is afraid to face his childhood. Danny finds work and a safe home in a small town.

This time Danny has to save a young girl named Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran) with powers of her own. There is someone else interested in her. Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her followers are on a mission to get inside Abra’s head. Feating on souls. Rose may have met her match.

With a brand new fight inside, Danny must end the carnage left by Rose the Hat and her traveling followers. While also protecting himself and the one person that can end this. The struggle of power is felt by everyone involved. Rose the Hat refuses to accept her possible fate.

An Opinion

I remember the first time seeing this movie it dug its claws into me. The book is a lot more involved, but I love how it is portrayed. The edge of your seat is calling throughout the movie. It takes you out of a level of comfort. You may feel upset at some moments, but those moments are a lot more graphic in the original story. Doctor Sleep has you cheering for broken people who need a fresh start.

Also, the villain is much more clear in this movie compared to the original Shining. Doctor Sleep is much more involved because of the technology these days. We saw it on the made-for-TV version (1997) was much easier to follow along with, because once again, it was made in an age of CGI origins. They were able to add CGI in a lot of scenes and made it look great. Normally I hate CGI effects.

In The End

I suggest everyone give this movie a chance, even if you don’t like these types of movies, you won’t regret watching Doctor Sleep. I normally don’t insist on any situation, but I will force Doctor Sleep on everyone. You don’t need an original story to piece this movie together.

Doctor Sleep has something for everyone in the horror genre. It’s a one-of-a-kind story that needs more love. I don’t normally say this about too many recent horror movies from the last ten years. However, it filled a void the first time I saw this film. It brought back some good memories of time spent with my mom watching horror movies.

Now go watch it!

Doctor Sleep is streaming on Prime, and MAX and is available to buy on certain streaming devices.