Doctor Sleep Shines as an Engrossing Horror Sequel

The return to the world of The Shining is yet another addition to the list of sequels that have taken over three decades to arrive but are well worth the wait. Doctor Sleep invokes a lot of the familiar staging and atmosphere but ultimately finds firm footing as a horror picture all its own—there’s a new sense of fear and timely allegory that the big return to the iconic horror tale plays more like a reason to come home than a reunion of sorts.

Ewan McGregor as Dan Torrance in Doctor Sleep. Warner Bros. Pictures

Danny Torrance has grown up from the troubled boy with the psychic Shining power to a drunken Ewan McGregor trying to bury the past in booze. It’s natural to assume that the experience of escaping a house of ghosts and a murderous dad would lead to a troubled upbringing, but even though Danny has found a way to more or less content the spirits that haunt him, he needs to realize his addiction is no way to live. Thus begins a journey of trying to reform himself as he is welcomed into a new town for a fresh start.

While Danny has spent his life denying his abilities, someone else has been embracing it all too much. Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) has been running a band of traveling Shining individuals for decades (or possibly centuries). While Danny was a wee boy struggling to avoid a ghastly end, Rose was seeking it; her group literally feeds on the fear of the essence of the Shining as a means of survival. Those who are powerful are welcomed into their fold, among them a homeless teen using her gift to swindle people. Those less powerful are treated as food and drug, a means of both ecstasy and longer life.

Kyliegh Curran as Abra Stone and Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat. Warner Bros Pictures

Though Danny and Rose are many miles apart, they are made aware of each other through teen Shining prodigy Abra (Kyliegh Curran), whose powers are so strong she bleeds into both contacting Danny and witnessing the horrors of Rose’s gang. Similar to Danny, she has learned how to hide her powers. But when similarly powered villains are traversing the country and killing kids, the two can’t afford to lie low—not if they value coming to terms with their issues.

I know how this story sounds by that description: as though The Shining were being twisted into a superhero-style sequel pitting psychic warriors against each other in a battle of good versus evil. Given how many new Shining powers are introduced—they seem to stretch as far as Jedi mind abilities—the premise certainly could fall apart in expanding its supernatural elements. But even with mind control, projection, and mental battlegrounds, Doctor Sleep never loses sight of its grander thematic elements, which remain the most fascinating part.

Warner Bros. Pictures

There’s a surprisingly engrossing conflict of philosophies within this stirring horror clash. Danny’s road to recovery is a unique one, as it is one of not only going sober but learning not to fear death after having grown up being surrounded and terrified by it. His new job has him working at a hospice and learning from the residents about how it’s both natural and not truly scary to die. Compare his changing views with the stuck-in-her-ways Rose, who fears death so fervently that her evil acts come from the desperation of worth and rejection of mortality. Then there’s Abra. representing the future, faced with the tough choice of concealing her abilities and remaining safe or using them at the risk of being corrupted or harvested by the wicked. The allegories become more potent and poignant as the film progresses.

Though taking several cues from Kubrick, director Mike Flanagan takes enough care to make the picture his own rather than try too hard to compete with the iconic director. There are a number of truly creepy and trippy sequences, sparingly using violence and jump scares to great effect. In particular, I love how he rarely slows down to explain the extent and flaws of the Shining powers, allowing for more mystery and allure as the film proceeds. Even by the time Doctor Sleep gets around to returning to the estate where the original horrors occurred, there’s enough style all its own to make the reprise seem more pleasing than tiring.

Home sweet home. Warner Bros. Pictures

While the acting of McGregor, Ferguson, and Curran is exceptionally strong, I must also mention how pleasing it was for Flanagan to have the faith to bring in new actors to play familiar characters of the original for flashback sequences. Carl Lumbly, Alex Essoe, and Henry Thomas all fill the roles once performed by iconic actors and deliver some compellingly engaging performances, rarely feeling like mere replications.

Doctor Sleep is not only worthy as a sequel to The Shining but strong enough to be a compelling horror all its own. It opens up the Shining lore but also doesn’t bog it down in specifics that overshadow the themes. It brings in new characters but weaves them well into the allegories and shocking nature of the story. But perhaps the most interesting aspect is that it is another strong sequel that was over 30 years in the making, bringing new ideas that may not surpass the original but do showcase there’s something more to explore with the concept.

Warner Bros. Pictures