Doctor Sleep

Expectations

Well, I had little expectations for this film. Any film that Stephen King is involved in, usually ends up worse. I’ve said it a million times: He’s a great author. He’s not a screenwriter. And he has terrible taste in movies (especially his). The director (Mike Flanagan) also did (directed, screenplay) Gerald’s Game and Hush, which I felt were poorly told (other horror nerds would disagree, probably)…but then, he did Haunting of Hill House and I was blown away at how much I loved it. Like I said, I had little expectations for Doctor Sleep.

Reality

I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. It was light and he didn’t try too hard. You can tell Flanagan loves the genre, and took great care to honor Stanley Kubrick. I might argue that he honored him a bit too much, as I could have done without the long references to the original film in the beginining. I also felt that when Dan Torrance is interviewing for his new job, having the exact same room setup from The Shining was too on-the-nose. Flanagan did great at mimicking Kubrick shots throughout the film, while having his own personal horror-flare on a Stephen King story.

When we get to the house, it’s a strange feeling. If you’re obsessed with The Shining, and you watched it as a child (as I did), and you re-visit it in current times — it’s wild how it felt smaller. It felt familiar, but you felt like you grew up and the house was actually dying. They did a great job with this set!

To me, this film was a solid marriage of Kubrick and Stephen King, while showing the horror audience that Flanagan means business. He’s leaving his mark in the genre and I’m actually excited about what he brings us next. I hope he maintains his brand of “classic spooky” while considering what truly scares an audience: Re-visiting the past, dealing with PTSD and addiction, considering the afterlife, and finding worth in being there for others.