Doctor Sleep

A short movie review for people with short attention spans!
Spoilers Possible!!

Director
Mike Flanagan is also known for directing Oculus, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil, and The Haunting of Hill House the series.

Starring
Ewan McGregor (Star Wars Episode 1: Phantom Menace), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Fallout), Kyliegh Curran (I Can, I Will, I Did), Cliff Curtis (Fear the Walking Dead), Zahn McClarnon (Braven), Emily Alyn Lind (Replicas), Jacob Tremblay (Good Boys), and Carl Lumbly (A Cure for Wellness)

Plot
Years following the events of The Shining (1980), a now-adult Dan Torrance must protect a young girl with similar powers from a cult known as The True Knot, who prey on children with powers to remain immortal.

What I Think
As the movie opens we follow a little girl into the woods when she comes upon a strange lady with a top hat. They converse in a friendly manner. Suddenly, the mood of the conversation shifts and strangers appear in the forest closing in on the two. The top hat lady grabs the little girl and the strangers rush them and all goes black.

Fast forward, we are catching up with Danny Torrence almost 3 decades after the incident at the Overlook Hotel. He is still able to shine but he is using drugs and drink to block out all of those memories. Danny finds himself in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere where he meets a new friend that guides him to a path toward sobriety, helps him to get a steady job and a place to stay. Shortly after arriving in the small town a message appears on the wall of his room. The writing of a child.

Finally, a young couple are throwing a party for their little girl, after the party they discover that their little girl has a gift. This gift is new to her but what she figures out is magical, curious, and terrifying all wrapped into one.

Now that I have laid down a bit of a foundation on the movie, here is my biggest gripe. There are some flashbacks in the movie that showcase The Shining. Scenes like the long hall with Danny on the Big Wheel, the bar scene with Jack, the old lady in the tub, etc. In the film they casts lookalikes to play the part of Wendy and Jack. With the advancement of technology, specifically deep fakes, you are telling me that they couldn’t do a face swap to make those roles more authentic? All the money put in to make this sequel awesome and they skimp on deep fakes. I’m off my soapbox.

Moving on from my visual disappointment of the flashback I did like the story. The way we get to see what happened after the events at the Overlook is enlightening. How this rogue band of light eaters known as The True Knot enters the story and adds a new level of terror to the story is chilling. Finally, introduction of this new stronger keeper of the shine is also very cool.

With all that said, there are a couple of disturbing scenes involving kidnapping and child murder, elements of science fiction, and of course the paranormal.

If you enjoyed The Shining then know that this movie is a bit faster but just as long.

I give this film 3 1/2 of 5 stars
Poster, plot and pictures courtesy of www.imdb.com

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