Making a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) was always a dicey proposition. How do you make a sequel to a film considered by many to be one of the best horror films of all-time, and directed by one of the most analyzed and revered filmmakers ever? It’s a daunting task, and one that is conceptually problematic as well. But in 2013, Stephen King, the author of the original novel on which The Shining was based, and the writer/producer of his own mini-series adaptation of the novel, released the long-awaited Doctor Sleep, a sequel focusing on the troubled life of Danny Torrance, the son of Jack, played by Jack Nicholson in the movie version.
But Doctor Sleep turned out to be one of King’s most underwhelming books and a huge disappointment to fans of the original novel, who expected something with more originality, atmosphere, and scares than what King ultimately delivered. In comes writer/director Mike Flangan, a talented but underachieving genre filmmaker whose credits include the bland Occulus (2013) and the terrific Gerald’s Game (2017), a muscular, haunting adaptation of one of King’s worst novels.
Many hoped that lightning would strike twice. Maybe Flanagan could do with Doctor Sleep what he managed to do so well with Gerlad’s Game? Alas, that didn't turn out to be the case. Doctor Sleep (2019), starring Ewan McGregor as the adult Danny Torrance, is a bloated, tremendously disappointing movie, more so because it contains some great visual ideas and some truly inspired deviations from the source material. But what brings the whole thing down are Flanagan’s approach and choices.
Over his career, Flanagan has shown a flair for atmosphere and visual storytelling. But he has also shown a lamentable penchant for a certain dour tone, an off-putting mix of sentimentality and aloofness, that rears its ugly head in almost everything he makes (Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House is a glaring case in point). In Doctor Sleep, this po-faced, elegiac tone makes the film a struggle to watch in one sitting, whether it is the theatrical version, or the 3 hour director’s cut released on home video. Dialogue scenes, never Flanagan’s strong point, go on forever and have a monotonous, repetitive quality, while the film’s pace is bumpy and distracting. Add to that that the villains, the weakest part of the novel, fare even worse here, with a terribly miscast Rebecca Ferguson delivering an annoying performance as Rose The Hat, a kind of succubus with a taste for children with psychic abilities. And then there’s the strange choice of focusing on the battle of wits between a child character called Abra and the villains, instead of on Danny Torrance’s struggle with his past and his inherited alcoholism, the strongest part of King’s book, which, in turn, gives Ewan McGregor very little of interest to play. Instead, he delivers a decent if forgettable performance that is so understated, it’s borderline mumblecore. Then there’s the climax, which tries to honor Kubrick’s original, King’s book, and Flanagan’s own vision of the story, with jarring results.
Still, Doctor Sleep has its merits, including a wonderful turn by the underrated Carl Lumbly as Dick Hallorann, filling in for the late Scatman Crothers. And although the movie is a misfire, it’s an interesting one, and is worth a watch for fans of King’s and Kubrick’s work.
Text © Ahmed Khalifa. 2020.
