It has been well-documented that director Mike Flanagan has been given a difficult task in making Doctor Sleep. It is the film adaptation of Stephen King’s 2013 novel which is the sequel to his earlier work The Shining. Flanagan has decided to not only adapt King’s novel but also make it a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film version of The Shining. No small task considering that characters in that film have different outcomes from the book not to mention other major changes. This very easily could have been one Overlook-sized mess.

Thankfully, Flanagan not only manages to make something that stays true both to King and Kubrick but also somehow feels like his own film. Anyone who has seen Gerald’s Game or The Haunting of Hill House will know that his work often revolves around characters dealing with family trauma. That is certainly the case here as Doctor Sleep centres on a grown-up Danny Torrence (Ewan McGregor) who has learned to cope with his psychic ability (otherwise known as ‘the shining’) in the years since the previous film. Danny is forced to protect a young girl who also ‘shines’ (Kyliegh Curran) from a group of vampiric immortals that feed off those with psychic powers.

The actors are all fantastic with newcomer Curran particularly impressive while McGregor displays sheer vulnerability as Danny. Crucially, he is not a Jack Torrence carbon copy but a sensitive man who wants to break away from his father’s abusive shadow. Rebecca Ferguson is a truly memorable villain as the immortals’ leader Rose the Hat and it has to be said that she does a faultless Irish accent. They all join together in an epic story which may not be terrifying but certainly has its thrills.

Doctor Sleep has been criticised so far for not being scary enough but I found this to be more effective than the other recent King horror It Chapter Two. It isn’t going to keep you awake at night but it orchestrates its shocks confidently enough. Whereas It Chapter Two felt the need the need to hit the audience over the head with cheap thrills and jump-scares, this takes its time developing the story. While this is a good thing, the film is also too long and is very slow to begin with.

Aside from the pace, the other negative point here is the jarring effect occasionally caused by the references and elements carried over from the first film. Luckily, this is never a massive issue as Flanagan is smart enough to allow Doctor Sleep to be its own beast. While varied locations helps it forge its own identity, this is a more optimistic and perhaps, likeable film than Kubrick’s icy masterpiece. What ultimately matters is that Flanagan has made a really good horror film about a man learning to overcome past trauma. It just happens to be a top-notch sequel to The Shining.

Disclaimer Notice: Any thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely my own. Any images (copyrighted or otherwise) have been used according to Creative Commons and if needed, have been referenced to the best of my knowledge.

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