Doctor Sleep - Review
Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Cliff Curtis
Over 30 years since the events that took place at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance (McGregor) has turned to alcoholism to repress his trauma. However, when the True Knot led by Rose the Hat (Ferguson) start feeding off the "shine" of innocents, Dan is approached by Abra (Curran), a teenager afflicted with the shine, to put a stop to the cult.
Director Mike Flanagan, best known for his work on horror films such as Hush and the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, faces a near-impossible challenge; adapting the work of Stephen King whilst also crafting a sequel to Kubrick's masterpiece that is considered one of, if not the most, revered horrors of all time. Flanagan rises to the occasion and handles the material with a sensitive maturity, never forgetting to indulge in the horrific fun of it all or deny the audience a fresh and compelling story.
Expanding the story beyond the confines of the Overlook Hotel, the narrative is subsequently opened up to various possibilities. We are re-introduced to Dan Torrance who, like his father, is an alcoholic, and lives a quiet life to hide from his ghosts (both literal and metaphorical). But the True Knot threaten his sedated existence as they capture people, specifically children, and murder them to collect their shine and gain immortality. It takes a while before Dan's and the cult's stories intersect but when they do, the peril is amped up to palpable levels and the race against time to save the powerful Abra from a torturous fate is on.
McGregor successfully emerges from the shadow of young Danny to forge a character independent of the first film whilst imbuing him with a vulnerability that can only be the result of deep-seated psychological damage. Meanwhile, Ferguson is a deliciously devilish antagonist as the leader of the True Knot, imposing a striking figure and asserting a confident energy. Flanagan can't resist the temptation to pay fan service to Kubrick's work, employing actors for flashback scenes who resemble the original characters (namely Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall's Wendy). Refusing to rely on CGI to recreate these characters is an admirable decision, but these homages and explicit references don't quite gel or compete with the rest of the film's brilliance.
An atmospheric and surprisingly violent sequel to the 1980s horror classic, Doctor Sleep may fail to appease some fans of its predecessor but it succeeds in enriching King's mythology and providing plenty of scares along the way.
EB
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Cliff Curtis
Director Mike Flanagan, best known for his work on horror films such as Hush and the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, faces a near-impossible challenge; adapting the work of Stephen King whilst also crafting a sequel to Kubrick's masterpiece that is considered one of, if not the most, revered horrors of all time. Flanagan rises to the occasion and handles the material with a sensitive maturity, never forgetting to indulge in the horrific fun of it all or deny the audience a fresh and compelling story.
Expanding the story beyond the confines of the Overlook Hotel, the narrative is subsequently opened up to various possibilities. We are re-introduced to Dan Torrance who, like his father, is an alcoholic, and lives a quiet life to hide from his ghosts (both literal and metaphorical). But the True Knot threaten his sedated existence as they capture people, specifically children, and murder them to collect their shine and gain immortality. It takes a while before Dan's and the cult's stories intersect but when they do, the peril is amped up to palpable levels and the race against time to save the powerful Abra from a torturous fate is on.
McGregor successfully emerges from the shadow of young Danny to forge a character independent of the first film whilst imbuing him with a vulnerability that can only be the result of deep-seated psychological damage. Meanwhile, Ferguson is a deliciously devilish antagonist as the leader of the True Knot, imposing a striking figure and asserting a confident energy. Flanagan can't resist the temptation to pay fan service to Kubrick's work, employing actors for flashback scenes who resemble the original characters (namely Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall's Wendy). Refusing to rely on CGI to recreate these characters is an admirable decision, but these homages and explicit references don't quite gel or compete with the rest of the film's brilliance.
An atmospheric and surprisingly violent sequel to the 1980s horror classic, Doctor Sleep may fail to appease some fans of its predecessor but it succeeds in enriching King's mythology and providing plenty of scares along the way.
EB
Comments
Post a Comment