We saw an early screening of Doctor Sleep, and I was treated to what I believe to be the best horror blockbuster of the year. This is the movie that Brightburn told us it would be. A compelling superhero story with a horror twist. On top of all that high praise, I truly believe that this is a worthy spiritual successor to The Shining, which is one of my all-time favorite movies ever. Doctor Sleep is impressive, serious, and fun.

Doctor Sleep can be found in theaters tomorrow evening and this weekend, and I

highly suggest you see it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2msJTFvhkU4

Doctor Sleep Synopsis

Doctor Sleep isn’t so much a sequel to The Shining as it is a continuation of the story of Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor then Danny Lloyd), from The Shining. It loops in lots of other interesting characters who also shine and does a better job of defining what “the shining” is than Kubrick’s film did.

Danny boy by Dustin Goebel whose Instagram you should follow @Dgoebel00

It follows Danny through

some of his childhood immediately following the death of his deranged father,

Jack, and it picks up the timeline in 2011 and again in 2019.

This movie uses a

parallel plot structure to introduce us to the important players in the story,

which weaves together into one cohesive tale that had me fully bought in. 

Danny grows up, beats

his demons, and settles down into a job where he excels, and then his life gets

flipped - turned upside down by a little girl who shines. He eventually takes

her under his wing the same way Hallorann took Danny under his.

Doctor Sleep Review

There is a definite “bad

guy” in this movie, which I won’t go into until the spoilers section. From what

I can tell, the critical response to Doctor Sleep the book was favorable

with exception to the bad guy. I can see how it might not translate well on

paper but, the baddie in the movie was fabulous and iconic to me.

The sound design was

impressive as hell to me. It kept me in the moment and feeling tension the

whole way through. 

Want to Watch The Shining?Check it out on AmazonClick here to Watch The Shining

The visuals were well

thought out, slow and meticulous. This movie had some very cool panning shots,

which I mentioned in our last episode which covered, The Lighthouse.

Heeeere's Danny!

The characters and

storyline were top tier, and the casting was maybe the best I’ve ever seen.

They re-enacted scenes from The Shining to a truly impressive degree. The set

design was incredible.

Of all the things I was

impressed with about Doctor Sleep I think the most telling one is that I

don’t feel any resentment at all about it being the sequel to one of the most

iconic horror movies of all time. The artistry behind this movie was impressive,

and Mike Flanagan clearly held Kubrick’s work in a

sacred place. 

Want to Watch Doctor Sleep?Check it out on AmazonClick here to Watch Doctor Sleep

I love Doctor Sleep because I love great stories. It’s a fabulous story, full of wonder and terror. I love the way Flanagan chose to adapt this story for the big screen.

Doctor Sleep Score

10/10

Spoilers

for Doctor Sleep

Click Here to Expand Spoilers

I don’t

want to go too far into detail in the spoilers section for Doctor Sleep because

I don’t want to do a disservice to the craft of film making that this movie

features. Instead I’ll break it down into what I liked and didn’t like about

the movie. Be forewarned, this is still spoilers!

The Callbacks to The Shining

There were so many visual callbacks to The Shining

hidden in plain sight in Doctor Sleep that I couldn’t keep them all

straight. The movie starts with a flying shot similar to the iconic opening

shot of The Shining and it also recreates that same opening shot as they

approach the Overlook Hotel at the end of Doctor Sleep.

Redrum, so popular these days...

Dr. John Dalton, the man who employed Danny when he got sober,