FRIGHT FEST: DOCTOR SLEEP TAKES US BACK TO THE OVERLOOK

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! This year, let's travel back to The Overlook with Doctor Sleep!

In Doctor Sleep, we follow the continuing "adventures" of Danny Torrence (Ewan Mcregor). Years after his unhappy childhood at The Overlook, Danny still suffers from hidden trauma and struggles to cope with his powerful Shining ability. He turns to drink in an effort to numb everything away, and quickly becomes an alcoholic. It's not until he escapes to a tiny town in New England called Frazier that he finally summons up the courage to throw away the bottle once and for all. It's just in time too, for a young girl called Abra (Kyleigh Curran) has the shine too, and a ravenous gang of Shining vampires (called The True Knot) led by an alluring woman named Rose The Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), is hot on her trail, intent on turning her into their next meal. It's up to Danny to mentor Abra and protect her from those who would do them both harm.

Doctor Sleep has a difficult task in front of it. It has to both be faithful to its source material, while remaining a sequel to the horror classic. The Shining (the novel) is quite different from The Shining (the film). For starters, The Overlook burns down/explodes at the end of the novel...so there's that. Not to mention in the novel, the character of Jack Torrence isn't downright evil, but instead a good but deeply flawed man who battles with his demons, only to be swallowed up by them in the end. Happily, the film is able to make peace with both versions of The Shining. As far as an adaptation of the novel Doctor Sleep, it does a fine job. The first two acts are fairly faithful, and the third act is where it becomes something wholly unique and original. It's an above-average adaptation of a mediocre novel (though there are some issues with things it chooses to leave out. For example: We don't spend as much intimate time with The True Knot.).

Doctor Sleep schools us on how to properly use characters that appeared in a prior beloved classic. The film doesn't use de-aging technology, but instead casts actors that look similar to those seen in The Shining (Carl Lumbly portrays Dick Hallorann, Roger Dale Floyd portrays young Danny, and Alex Essoe of Starry Eyes fame portrays Wendy Torrance). All the actors cast look close enough to the original actors, and are believable in their roles while still putting their own slight spin on the characters. Alex Essoe and Carl Lumbly in particular impress. Alex Essoe is a more beautiful version of Wendy/ Shelly Duvall, and Lumbly looks and acts almost exactly like Scatman Crothers/Dick Hallorann. Henry Thomas (aka Elliot in E.T.) also shows up for a surprise role, and is in what might be the best scene in the entire film. He was downright unrecognizable, and was incredibly impressive. Not only did he look like the actor/character he was portraying, he also gave a similar but slightly different performance as well.  In the end, not having distracting CGI definitely aids in the believability of these characters and the actors' performances.

Ewan McGregor is well cast as adult Danny Torrence. It's not hard to see young Danny growing up into him. He has a slight pathos to him, and is very easy to root for. Kyleigh Curran as Abra is quite good as well. She adds a surprising menace to her character in certain scenes that really works, but is mostly a jovial but increasingly worried (due to her Shining and The True Knot)  middle school prodigy. Rebecca Ferguson is perfect as Rose The Hat, an incredibly sexy but increasingly dangerous and deadly woman who is the head of the True Knot. It's hard to take your eyes off her when she is on, and she manages to be sympathetic, frightening, and appropriately threatening.

As for the supporting cast, they all do fine jobs. Zahn McClarnon is great as Crow Daddy, Rose's second in command. He's pretty likable, despite being bad at his core and is one of the stand-outs of the supporting cast. Cliff Curtis does a fine job as Billy, a close friend to Danny and a conductor of a toy train. His character is a slightly different version of the Billy character from the novel (for starters, the Billy in the novel is much older), but is still someone you would want on your side during a tough time. Carel Struckyn (aka Lurch in the 1990s Addams Family movies and The Moonlight Man in Gerald's Game) is fine in his small role as Grandpa Flick. Jacob Tremblay is fantastic in his minor role as Bradley Trevor, a young kid who falls victim to The True Knot. It's incredibly hard to watch his murder, and his cries of pain and terror are super affecting. It's surprising to see him here, and in such a small role....but he absolutely nails it (Interestingly enough, in the novel Doctor Sleep, his character has the Measels which he passes on to The True Knot when they feast on him. The True Knot slowly begin to die off from the disease, which puts their backs against the wall and is ultimately why they decide to go after Abra with such gusto. This aspect is completely absent from the film though, and is sorely missed as it would have added a little bit to the proceedings.).

Don't walk into Doctor Sleep expecting a thrill-a-minute, terrifying horror film. Like the novel, there isn't a whole lot of forward momentum, and it's a fairly quiet, introspective movie. It's not boring, it's just pretty slow for the first two acts. It's really in it's third act where Doctor Sleep starts to shine (no pun intended), as character's fates are altered and we are re-introduced to The Overlook Hotel, which has been condemned and long-abandoned after the incidents of The Shining. This is when the film puts the pedal to the medal, and Doctor Sleep becomes something pretty thrilling as we are treated to what is essentially a fun and nostalgic haunted house maze inside the crumbling Overlook. The direction by Mike Flannagan, the production design by Maher Ahmad, the art direction by Richie Bearden, Austin Gorg, and Justin O'Neal Miller, and the set decoration by Gene Serdena are all superb. Doctor Sleep's Overlook looks exactly like the classic Overlook in The Shining (there's even a cool scene early on that replicates the office of Mr. Ullman, for no clear reason other than to give the audience some serious willies). It's just nice to re-visit a classic location, it's almost like coming home in a weird way. There's a lot of fun to be had inside The Overlook in Doctor Sleep, although there are some parts that border on feeling like a re-make. That said, it's nice to have the ol' girl appear for a final curtain bow and to get to explore her halls once again (the score by The Newton Brothers even resembles that of The Shining in odd moments, which is nice. The end credits even roll to the tune of Midnight, The Stars and You which is the same song that The Shining ends with).

Doctor Sleep ends on a satisfying, bitter-sweet note and closes out The Shining films in appropriate fashion. Doctor Sleep certainly won't win over everyone who sees it. Hardcore fans of Doctor Sleep (the novel) may be disappointed or frustrated with some of the changes made. Mega fans of The Shining (the film), may be unhappy with how few scares and chills this film has. So, your mileage may vary. All that being said, Doctor Sleep is still a mostly entertaining, fun, freaky film that is elevated to something somewhat greater due to its thrilling final act and it's superb performances from its large cast. It makes for an easy recommendation.

Doctor Sleep gets released Nov. 8 2019

3.5 STARS

And so ends another Fright Fest. Till next year, pleasant frightmares, ghosties and ghoulies!