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DOCTOR SLEEP (2019)
CAST
EWAN McGREGOR
SELENA ANDUZE
KYLEIGH CURRAN
CLIFF CURTIS
JOCELIN DONAHUE
ALEX ESSOE
REBECCA FERGUSON
ROGER DALE FLOYD
BRUCE GREENWOOD
EMILY ALYN LIND
ROBERT LONGSTREET
CARL LUMBLY
ZAHN McCLARNON
ZACKARY MOMOH
CAREL STRUYCKEN
JACOB TREMBLAY

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY

STEPHEN KING

SCREENPLAY BY
MIKE FLANAGAN

PRODUCED BY

JON BERG
TREVOR MACY

DIRECTED BY
MIKE FLANAGAN

GENRE
DRAMA
HORROR
THRILLER

RATED
AUS:MA
UK:15
USA:R

RUNNING TIME

152 MIN
A contemplative and terrifying take on good versus evil, Doctor Sleep lives up to the lofty expectations of following a seminal horror classic, with excellent direction and performances in a film about the consuming nature of life and time, and the evil that exploits it.

If there is a through line to be found in the works of Stephen King, it is that the world is determined to devour us all. As depicted in the forms of ghosts, ghouls, and all matter of monster, the aim of King’s antagonists is to tear apart their victims - physically, mentally, spiritually - and consume them. It is a description of evil that is immensely Biblical in nature, with story after story of man’s downfall done through sins both forewarned and inherent, in a world doomed since that first bite of the apple.

In that context, The Shining is not only an astute tale of terror, but it is also tragedy. It’s story of father and novelist Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) trying to keep his life in control and free of addiction, takes a sinister turn when his employment as a caretaker at a hotel in the snowy Colorado mountains is exploited by the evil spirits within, and drives Jack to murderous madness. Surviving this axe-wielding massacre is young Danny (Roger Dale Floyd), whose supernatural psychic ability known as ‘shining’, in which he can communicate with the dead and other psychics, sees him fend off all matter of nasty spirit looking to feed on his soul.

After decades of alcohol abuse, a homeless adult Danny (Ewan McGregor) finds sobriety and a new lease on life as an orderly at a hospice, where he reassures those about to pass on that there is indeed more beyond this life. He also makes a friend in Abra (Kyliegh Curran), another gifted psychic whose power is unparalleled. Getting her attention is the ancient and dangerous Rose the Hat (Rebecca Fergusson), who along with her group of fellow psycho-psychics, feed on the souls of ‘shiners’ like vampires on blood. Together, Danny and Abra make a stand against Rose in a showdown between good and evil.

Director Mike Flanagan (Gerard’s Game) does an excellent job in paying homage to, and continuing the story of The Shining, in both its literary and film versions. King has famously denounced Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his work, which in true Kubrick fashion caters to his vision only (and rightfully so). Flanagan straddles the line between these visionary worlds, and delivers his own tale of terror and redemption.

Flanagan wisely taps into central themes of addiction, temptation, and identity, and builds upon them in a horror movie that invests equally in its character and its world building. Danny himself is a character that deals with demons real and personal, especially alcohol, in which he takes solace in to escape horrors of the past that plague him like a dark, looming shadow. McGregor inhabits the role with warmth, sensitivity, and a strong moral conscious that forces him to take a stand when young psychics - just like he was - are threatened by an evil conglomerate of soul sucking gypsies.

Leading this plague is Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat. Like monsters of folk legend, the eternal beauty and magnetic charm that Rose evokes draws her prey to certain, torturous doom. One scene in which an adolescent baseball player (Jacob Tremblay) is abducted and killed in gruesome, slow fashion, is disturbing to watch, and sets the standard of evil at play: vicious, hungry, and eternal. Ferguson’s villainous turn ranks high in the Stephen King villain pantheon.

Well crafted throwbacks to The Shining are expertly woven into a film that speaks about letting go of the past and embracing the future. Doctor Sleep certainly isn’t The Shining (what film can be?), but it shows how a filmmaker can follow up a legacy movie and establish his own fingerprint, his own identity, while doing so. In a genre known for its less than stellar sequels, Doctor Sleep is a welcome rarity.

****

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