Doctor Sleep Review

The creepy and atmospheric tones embraced throughout Mike Flannigan's sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, effortlessly sets the mood for a well-acted story that only manages to deliver satisfying payoffs inconsistently. Bogged down by questionable dialogue and special effects that can often break immersion, Doctor Sleep is most successful when it's emulating the familiar events and locations of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece. While many fans of both The Shining and Stephen King will appreciate the supernatural thriller that the film becomes, a bloated runtime and erratic script ultimately take away from the eerie and well-executed cinematics.

Forty years after the terrifying events that happened at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance has grown up struggling to find any peace from what happened. When Dan meets a teenager named Abra, a brave young woman who shares the same strange and powerful gift known as "shine", problems begin to arise. Partnering with Abra to make an unlikely alliance, Dan must now help her get rid of a villainous group called The True Knot, an evil collection who wish to feed off her powers in hopes of achieving immortality.

Flanagan's extremely focused world building and genuine appreciation for the source material shows with his moody and ominous directing that compliments Michael Firmognari's haunting cinematography. It's a fitting aesthetic that helps many of the films weaker moments remain visually entertaining despite the uneven and sometimes underwhelming narrative direction. However, the sometimes-problematic story structure is made less of an issue thanks to the efforts put into the leading performances. Both Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson are incredibly convincing and elevate their characters above many of their weaker moments.

While many elements of the film help create an overall story that's resolved in a worthwhile manner, Doctor Sleep suffers from an excessively long runtime and sloppy special effects that range in quality. Scenes incorporating the steam that the antagonists so desperately crave are often partnered with poor visuals that cheapen the overall results. Pacing issues while establishing certain events and themes can also feel clunky and ineffective at times, making the ambitious yet unnecessarily inflated odyssey more of a noticeable burden than a steadily rewarding journey.

Overall, many notable flaws arise from the swollen story and odd pacing, but the stellar performances that are given by its leading cast and the fantastic imagery that Flanigan and crew have conjured help make Doctor Sleep greater than the sum of its parts.

Noticeably flawed but ambitiously crafted, the compelling visuals and performances by the cast and crew help elevate Doctor Sleep into a predominantly enjoyable experience.

Produced By: Warner Bros.
Runtime: 152 minutes
Rating: R