Movie Reaction: Doctor Sleep

Formula: (The Shining * It: Chapter 2) / It

Doctor Sleep is a long movie. I don't say that to complain about the length. I mean, it could use some trimming. However, I say that to explain why I'm writing this Reaction with an arm tied behind my back. You see, over 2 hours into the movie, there was a weird power surge at the movie theater that caused the picture to go out. The sound picked right back up and continued playing though. I got a refund from the theater, but they also let the movie play out. Had this been a short movie or happened in the first 30 minutes, I would've left and come back for another showing. I'm not about to sit through the same 2 hours of this movie though to get to the part I hadn't seen. I liked the movie, but not that much.

So I listened to the last 30 minutes of the movie: the entire climax. It turned out to be an interesting experiment and served as a reminder of how much the sound mixing and editing does for a movie. I should probably cover the 2 hours I saw first though.

Doctor Sleep is a sequel to The Shining, although I wouldn't be surprised if the filmmakers tried to call it something like a "sister story" instead. Regardless, it follows Dan Torrance (Ewan McGreggor). You may remember him as the kid on the Big Wheel from The Shining. I completely forget how much The Shining really explains all this, but "the shining" is a shorthand for "magic powers". Everyone has a little but some have major shining. Dan has a lot of shining, which messes with his head. He grows up to be an alcoholic, trying to suppress his shining through booze and drugs. Eventually, he goes into recovery and channels his shining for good. He can talk to people telepathically at the nursing home he works at, and that gives people peace who are about to die. Meanwhile, there's a group of shining people lead by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) who hunt and kill other shining people. You see, they've found a way to extend their lives by taking the shining juice (steam) from others by killing them. Dan crosses paths with Rose the Hat's group when they go after a girl names Abra, who is especially gifted in shining powers. Dan knows Abra because they become soft of telepathic best friends over the years.

It's a lot to take in. Instead of dumping all this information all at the same time, the movie stretches out the first act to slowly deliver it. I understand that decision, but the end result is a movie that drags a lot at points and has clear bits that could be edited out. There's also the temptation to believe, because it's Stephen King and because The Shining was a horror movie, that Doctor Sleep is a horror movie too. It sort of is. Scary things happen in it. But it's a lot more like It: Chapter 2: a supernatural action movie with horror elements. I enjoyed the movie a lot more as an action movie than if I looked at it as horror.

The cast is weird. It was hard to buy Ewan McGreggor as such a screw-up. He's over 20 years removed from Trainspotting and too composed to convince me that he's as close to the edge as the movie needs. I'd like a little more inner turmoil from the performance. Rebecca Ferguson is having a great time. She has the fun villain role that gives her tics and fun costumes choices. It's sometimes hard to figure out what kind of movie she thinks she's in, but she was still my favorite part of it. Kyliegh Curran gives a decent child performance. I'm not going to criticize a preteen for not imbuing a role with more character than what's on the page. Emily Alyn Lind plays one of the newcomers to Ferguson's group. This isn't the first thing I've seen her in, but it's the first time the 17-year-old made an impression. It's not a star making performance, although I am curious to see what she shows up in next. She has a nice edge that could be a lot of fun to see her grow into.

Now, as I mentioned, I didn't see the end of the movie. I only heard it. That's a shame, because the last act is what plays the most off The Shining iconography. It sounded good. Mike Flanagan is probably my favorite director working in and around horror right now. His last few project have been adaptations or sequels (this, The Haunting of Hill House, Gerald's Game, Ouija: Origin of Evil). He's great at finding what works in a known text or concept (He's better at original ideas like Oculus or Hush, but that's a discussion for another day). He doesn't rely too much on things that worked well before. He strikes a good balance I love that he edits his movies as well. Even though much of the movie can be cut down, his edits do feel intentional. I just wish his intention was to make a tighter movie. The ending sure sounded great though. Doctor Sleep is otherwise interesting enough, and it does nothing to diminish my interest in what Flanagan has in store next.

Verdict: Weakly Recommend