Doctor Sleep (2019) #HorrorMovie Review

Having read Stephen King’s 2013 novel Doctor Sleep, I had my bias about the story in place before I watched the movie. For once, I didn’t sit there, thinking, what about this or that? maybe, that was because it’s been several years since I read it and all the details weren’t fresh in my mind as with other book to film adaptations that I’ve seen.

For those who haven’t read the book and are wondering if you should see Doctor Sleep, the answer is yes, if you have to know what became of Danny Torrance. I just assumed he went batshit crazy alongside his mom. But turns out, they moved on and had relatively normal lives with some caveats.

I had low expectations for this film and was on the fence about seeing it when a friend encouraged me to see it because he thought it was great. Had it not been for the beautiful Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat, I might not have finished it, it just didn’t grab me (as I expected). I’m still not sure that Ewan McGregor was the best choice for adult Danny, but no one asked me; he did a good job with the role, but I just didn’t really feel anything from him that was exceptional. Kyliegh Curran was phenomenal in her role as Abra Stone, though.

The few effects were good, but nothing revolutionary. The “Steam aka the Shining” eaters dying reminded me of old school stop-motion animation that they did an admiral job mimicking with CGI. My favorite scene, and I thought this would change as the movie progressed but it didn’t, is in the grocery store.

I loved the intensity of this movie and the images displayed, even with the false climaxes. When the real climax comes, I’m bored, though it was interesting to see the actors they found to play characters from the Shining.

After reviewing my notes and writing this, I can only give Doctor Sleep 3 out of 5 stars.

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