Doctor Sleep, 2019.
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Starring Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Zahn McClarnon, Cliff Curtis, Emily Alyn Lind, Carel Struycken, Bruce Greenwood, Chelsea Talmadge, Alex Essoe, Catherine Parker, and Selena Anduze
SYNOPSIS:
Years after the events of The Shining, a grownup Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) has repressed his abilities and hit the bottle, only to find that a mysterious cult led by the enigmatic Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) are seeking out those who can ‘shine’ in order to steal their powers.
Trying to explain exactly what kind of film Shining sequel Doctor Sleep is, is a task as tricky as navigating the labyrinthine corridors of the Overlook Hotel on Danny Torrance’s trike. It simply can’t be pigeonholed in the box marked “horror” that sits behind an unattended reception desk. There’s some magic, a few moments of terrifying horror, that same insidious sense of dread which hung over Kubrick’s film, but Mike Flanagan has managed to create his own unique vision to compliment a classic.
Based on Stephen King’s 2013 novel, Flanagan’s film is a sequel to the original book rather than Kubrick’s masterpiece, but takes place in the same universe in which Jack Nicholson froze to death chasing his son Danny around the Overlook’s maze.
The story picks up with Danny essentially still running all these years later. He’s an alcoholic who steals money from the purses of women he’s slept with, moving from town-to-town, blowing on the wind. It’s a sad existence for a kid you hoped had seen the worst of life during that strange winter of 1980, and as an actor capable of tapping into the darkest recesses of human suffering, Ewan McGregor is Renton level-great as the grown-up finger twitcher.
So much of Doctor Sleep is untethered from that familiar world Danny dollied around the corners in, that it’s important we’re invested in a character we’re meant to know, when the aesthetic and story surrounding him is initially unrecognisible from the one we might have expected. McGregor’s broken, desperate performance is perfect hand-holding intrigue for Flanagan to lead the audience slowly into this new story.
If you go in expecting corridors of blood or balls bouncing from the darkest of voids, then be prepared to wait for the iconography to kick-in late. Doctor Sleep opens with that honking great Shining score as an unsettling fanfare, but quickly becomes something completely unexpected and wonderful.
Flanagan does such a great job of shifting your desire to watch a Shining sequel, to one where you’re wholly captivated by this separate narrative, that when the callbacks do arrive, as impressive as they are, they can feel a little jarring. It’s a weird dilemma to have at the heart of the movie: two conflicting positives. One where you’re made fully aware of how impressive a feat detaching this from Kubrick’s classic is, while simultaneously loving and longing for the recognisable Overlook echoes that leave a trail of breadcrumbs towards the finale.
Before you get to tread that carpet though, there’s so much to enjoy along the way. Not least the performance of Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat. Destined to become an iconic villain and go-to Halloween costume of choice, she is like a cross between the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Babadook. The juxtaposition of the beautiful flower-child and hungry monster is terrifying, particularly during one truly uncomfortable attack sequence that’s quite difficult to shake from your waking thoughts.
She’s backed up by an impressive roster of lackeys. Any fans of Fargo or Westworld will know how incredible Zahn McClarnon is, always adding silent layers to his characters, and he’s great as Rose’s right-hand-man, Crow Daddy. Adding to the list of brilliantly named baddies is Emily Alyn Lind as the newest recruit to the soul-suckers, Snakebite Andi, who’s at the heart of one of the film’s most jaw-dropping shocks.
Much like The Shining had impressive performances from Nicholson and Duvall (who’re subtly worked into this film in such an imaginative way), before you realised it was Danny’s movie all along, Flanagan makes sure the focus remains in completing his story. He is given a mirror to his own past with the character of Abra Stone (the absolutely terrific Kyliegh Curran), who shares the same gift with consequences as him, as together their fates run parallel with the camera swooping across that island on the lake, and up those windy roads towards the Overlook Hotel.
Informed by The Shining, rather than beholden to it, Doctor Sleep really is its own unique thing, unfolding as a transfixing experience that you’re unable to second-guess. Not only among the best Stephen King adaptations, but one of the most unexpectedly great films of the year.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★
Matt Rodgers – Follow me on Twitter @mainstreammatt
