For me, this movie, and the book when it was being published, was long awaited. A sequel to The Shining! First the book got its sequel, and now the movie. And of course, “The King!”, as The Bloody Reel team has deemed Stephen on Reel 237. I can never get enough of Stephen King’s writing – give me more!!
I was further excited to find out that Doctor Sleep, recently released on November 8th, was directed by Mike Flanagan. You may remember him from such horror movies/shows as The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix), Oculus, Gerald’s Game (another of The King’s writing), and others within our favorite genre of Horror. And I loved the casting of Ewan McGregor as the older, much troubled Dan Torrence.
I will admit though. I was wondering how they would tie all this together in the Doctor Sleep movie. The Shining, the book, was much different in so many ways than the classic Stanley Kubrick movie released in 1980. So much so, that Stephen King outwardly despised the movie, along with other issues he had with the characters in the movie, and more. When Stephen King wrote his sequel, it was solely based off what he wrote years before, not acknowledging the Kubrick film, almost to the point where it seemed he was intentionally debunking all that Kubrick created in his vision. Hate to say it, but Stephen King didn’t like the adaption of his book to the big screen, regardless of Jack Nicholson’s eyebrows!
To give a fair answer on the end result: It’s a sequel to both the book and the movie.
It was amazing to see how Mike Flanagan brought both worlds together. And, he did a very smart thing before even starting the production. He got Stephen King’s approval on the storyline/plans for the movie, even with his inclusion of Kubrick’s world. From the previews of Doctor Sleep, it’s obvious from the start that there are scenes referencing the Kubrick film. And as I walked out of the theater, I felt they held true to the book in so many ways. Yes, there are differences, but what movie to film adaptations don’t have some sort of sacrifice?
The main storyline of the Doctor Sleep movie follows the book, but with Kubrick’s world woven into it seamlessly. What are some examples? These are what gave me chills of excitement while watching Doctor Sleep:
*Room 237 is still the residency of the haunting old woman in the tub, and yet, at one point of the movie, Dan Torrence enters Room 217 in the hospice at which he works. Giving a nod to the original book as to the real room number.
*There’s a scene where Dan and Abra are driving to the Overlook Hotel, which mirrors the fly-over scene of the Kubrick film when the family is making their way through the mountains to the, hotel as well.
*Dan Torrence is sitting in Dr. John’s office, getting a job offer, that looks like a replica, wall paint color and all, to the office where Jack Torrence is getting offered the Overlook Hotel caretaker position.
*In a chilling scene where Dan Torrence enters the Great Ballroom of the hotel, I could feel the setup, as he slowly walks towards the bar where Lloyd (the best G-damned bartender from Timbuktu to Portland, Maine) met Jack Torrence long ago. Only this time it isn’t Lloyd as we knew him, but Jack Torrence awaiting his son. Wish it were Jack Nicholson for this part, but unfortunately it was not. So much of the angles of the filming were eerily similar to the Kubrick film, I couldn’t sit still!
*Dan Torrence wields an axe to fend off the True Knot leader, Rose, in the Overlook Hotel. Rose is slowly and maniacally lurking up the stairs towards Dan as he steps backwards facing her. Very reminiscent of Jack with Wendy on the exact same staircase when she hits him over the head with a bat.
*Later, still weilding the axe, possessed by the haunts of the hotel, and now with an injury to one of his legs, Dan Torrence is hobbling after Abra looking much like his father as he chased him around the Overlook Hotel in the Kubrick movie. It gave me excited chills to see this duplication of Jack Torrence’s lumbering attempts to “correct” his family.
Speaking of Rose the Hat and the True Knot, those of the Shine Suckers of children type. They are definitely scary creatures in both the book and movie. But I wouldn’t say they would give nightmares to all. In my mind they are wandering gypsies that only attack children with the Shining capabilities, which really makes them a danger to a minute tiny percentage of people. However, the scene early in the movie with Billy the Baseball boy is torturous and brutal enough to make any parent, and probably some that aren’t parents, squirm in their seats. And, yes, they have powers beyond a normal person, but their focus, solely to suck the Shine out of children, was limited in their expanse of high-level creature-dom. But, for Dan and Abra, this is their true enemy, thus creating the tension and conflict for the story.
The True Knot was portrayed exactly how I pictured them from reading the book, which kind of blew my mind. And, I felt Rebecca Furgeson was the perfect fit for Rose the Hat, she of the determined, maniacal, evil leader of the True Knot.
In summary, I loved the movie, and can’t wait to own it. The work Flanagan did to honor Stephen King’s original creation, but tie the movie into Kubrick movie, was epic and successful. Somehow he figured out a way to make a sequel to two separate stories, and to make it great movie in itself. If you are a Stephen King fan, or loved the The Shining the movie, I highly recommend both seeing the movie, and reading the book, of Doctor Sleep.
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