Little over three decades after penning the eerie "The Shining", Stephen King decided to write a sequel that follows Danny (now going by Dan) Torrance dealing with the trauma he once endured at the infamous Overlook. Now director Mike Flanagan set his directorial acumen on adapting this work two years after his success with "Gerald's Game" for Netflix. Thankfully the director didn't falter in bringing this King book to the big screen.
The basic plot follows the tormented Dan as he is once again forced to confront danger when a murderous cult seeks a strongly gifted teenager. It's a race against time and a battle of wills as Dan must accept his gift once more in order to protect young Abra Stone and confront his demons.
The casting in this King story is one of the greatest strengths as we get the talents of A-listers Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson and newcomer Kyliegh Curran. First to focus on our Dan Torrance is the great Ewan McGregor who successfully flits between a traumatized, but still incredibly 'Shining' strong man. When we first meet Dan (post flashbacks) is a disheveled and hungover man that we could mistake for his late father, Jack. Dan abuses the drink just as his father had done previously, but in Dan's case it is to suppress his Shine and the trauma he endured at the age of five. He even thinks of stealing money, but his conscience gets the better of him in the form of his old ally, Dick Halloran. This lost soul wanders round the continental U.S. in order to keep beginning his life anew, but when he settle in New Hampshire, we soon get to see Ewan McGregor transform into a more confident man as we watch him become the titular 'Doctor Sleep' by helping patients in a hospice center. However it is his chemistry with Kyliegh Curran's Abra that makes the heart of the film as McGregor must communicate through writing on a chalkboard and eventually acting as a mentor to young Curran's Abra. He becomes the new Halloran to her Danny, but she is far more confident in their ability compared to Dan's current state. However watching McGregor grow into a fearless hero as the climax approaches is a cathartic journey especially as we watch him confront the trauma he once suffered and is able to redeem himself and protect the world he once shunned. Newcomer Kyliegh Curran brings an earthliness to the potential victim of the evil True Knot. Abra Stone looks like an average teenager just like meeting little Danny in "The Shining", but she is even more powerful in the Shine compared to Dan at the start of the film. She is essentially reckless as a little girl with her power (at the age of five), but when Abra meets Dan and is warned about her powers though is told to stop using the Shine by Dan. However it is due to her ignoring his advice that actually helps her potential mentor open up to using his Shine again and how Dan and Abra are able to battle the True Knot. Abra does suffer terribly in one horrific scene, but throughout the narrative she remains strong and refuses to give in to the fear that the True Knot thrives on. She is afraid like a teenager can be, but Abra doe not let this fear rule her and stands besides Dan unafraid of their adversary. Finally as the villainess of the piece we have the beautiful Rebecca Ferguson as the wicked Rose the Hat. For a character whose past is virtually unknown to the viewer, Ferguson plays Rose like an ancient evil who has been around for at least half of a century (due to some hints dropped in her dialogue). Rose leads the evil cult, the True Knot, who seek to steal the Shine from young children in order to maintain their life-force. However even though all the members to get have their share of the 'steam', Rose is always the first asserting her alpha female status and keeps the leftover canisters in her trailer to heighten her own selfish nature. Ferguson deftly toes the line of presenting a friendly-ish demeanor (as demonstrated in the opening scene) but quickly turning into a violent and vicious killer without any remorse for killing innocents. The role of Rose being one of the most powerful Shiners demands quite the physical prowess of an actress as she is thrown about psychologically and psychically affected when her members are attacked. Given that Rebecca Ferguson has been part of the "Mission Impossible" franchise since 2015, the English actress has the action movie skills that can meet the demand but Ferguson goes even deeper here. She is thin and flexible as she must react to psychological attacks and pantomime being held in place by her powerful adversary, Abra. She and Abra are almost a Holmes-Moriarty in their battle of wits as they work furiously to wear down the other until one gives up, but neither woman is willing to back down.
With only one writer in the director, we get a helpful streamlined narrative. Flanagan devotes fair amounts of screen-time to his three leads in order to establish them, but the first act focuses on Dan and his journey to normalcy before the second act introduces him to Abra. We only see him and the True Knot for the first half, but we do get to meet Abra as a little girl when her Shine first surfaces, but she becomes a key player once she hits thirteen and the cult seeks her essence. This is actually for the benefit of the narrative so we can follow Dan first as he establishes his normal life and his friendship with the unseen Abra, keeping him the main focus before it becomes about him, Abra and their battle against the True Knot. Flanagan stays pretty faithful to the novel like he did with "Gerald's Game", but does change up moments during the story especially the ending which actually gives closure to Dan and has a cheeky implication if you've seen "The Shining".
The cinematography and music in the film are also well crafted. The music by the Newton Brothers is quite minimalist similar to Ennio Morricone's score for "The Thing" in particular, using a heartbeat prominently in the majority of scenes. There is even use of the classic low brass theme from "The Shining" as we reach the climax and the cinematography echoes how Stanley Kubrick filmed the opening to his film. The landscapes are beautifully crafted due to its mainly rural locations in New Hampshire, Iowa and the finale in Colorado and the color contrasts are all unique to their location. We get mostly blue-gray as we follow Dan, green and pink with Abra's room and dying yellow with the True Knot during the daytime and we get darkness at night since the group is evil; Rose's wardrobe even reflects their nighttime evil as Rebecca Ferguson wears mostly gray, tan and her black hat and even a red skirt mixed with some white in one scene. Even the visual effects are decent due to how practical they look particularly in the eerie blue-white glow in the eyes of the True Knot when they perform their wicked ritual. However one thing I wish the visual effects team had done was use digital imposition for the climax when we see Dan confront his childhood trauma; I won't spoil too much of what I'm referring to, but when you see it I think you'll know what I mean.
In summary, this is a worthy sequel to one of Stephen King's classic works. It is not perfect of course, but I found it more engaging than the cinematic adaptation of "The Shining".
The basic plot follows the tormented Dan as he is once again forced to confront danger when a murderous cult seeks a strongly gifted teenager. It's a race against time and a battle of wills as Dan must accept his gift once more in order to protect young Abra Stone and confront his demons.
The casting in this King story is one of the greatest strengths as we get the talents of A-listers Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson and newcomer Kyliegh Curran. First to focus on our Dan Torrance is the great Ewan McGregor who successfully flits between a traumatized, but still incredibly 'Shining' strong man. When we first meet Dan (post flashbacks) is a disheveled and hungover man that we could mistake for his late father, Jack. Dan abuses the drink just as his father had done previously, but in Dan's case it is to suppress his Shine and the trauma he endured at the age of five. He even thinks of stealing money, but his conscience gets the better of him in the form of his old ally, Dick Halloran. This lost soul wanders round the continental U.S. in order to keep beginning his life anew, but when he settle in New Hampshire, we soon get to see Ewan McGregor transform into a more confident man as we watch him become the titular 'Doctor Sleep' by helping patients in a hospice center. However it is his chemistry with Kyliegh Curran's Abra that makes the heart of the film as McGregor must communicate through writing on a chalkboard and eventually acting as a mentor to young Curran's Abra. He becomes the new Halloran to her Danny, but she is far more confident in their ability compared to Dan's current state. However watching McGregor grow into a fearless hero as the climax approaches is a cathartic journey especially as we watch him confront the trauma he once suffered and is able to redeem himself and protect the world he once shunned. Newcomer Kyliegh Curran brings an earthliness to the potential victim of the evil True Knot. Abra Stone looks like an average teenager just like meeting little Danny in "The Shining", but she is even more powerful in the Shine compared to Dan at the start of the film. She is essentially reckless as a little girl with her power (at the age of five), but when Abra meets Dan and is warned about her powers though is told to stop using the Shine by Dan. However it is due to her ignoring his advice that actually helps her potential mentor open up to using his Shine again and how Dan and Abra are able to battle the True Knot. Abra does suffer terribly in one horrific scene, but throughout the narrative she remains strong and refuses to give in to the fear that the True Knot thrives on. She is afraid like a teenager can be, but Abra doe not let this fear rule her and stands besides Dan unafraid of their adversary. Finally as the villainess of the piece we have the beautiful Rebecca Ferguson as the wicked Rose the Hat. For a character whose past is virtually unknown to the viewer, Ferguson plays Rose like an ancient evil who has been around for at least half of a century (due to some hints dropped in her dialogue). Rose leads the evil cult, the True Knot, who seek to steal the Shine from young children in order to maintain their life-force. However even though all the members to get have their share of the 'steam', Rose is always the first asserting her alpha female status and keeps the leftover canisters in her trailer to heighten her own selfish nature. Ferguson deftly toes the line of presenting a friendly-ish demeanor (as demonstrated in the opening scene) but quickly turning into a violent and vicious killer without any remorse for killing innocents. The role of Rose being one of the most powerful Shiners demands quite the physical prowess of an actress as she is thrown about psychologically and psychically affected when her members are attacked. Given that Rebecca Ferguson has been part of the "Mission Impossible" franchise since 2015, the English actress has the action movie skills that can meet the demand but Ferguson goes even deeper here. She is thin and flexible as she must react to psychological attacks and pantomime being held in place by her powerful adversary, Abra. She and Abra are almost a Holmes-Moriarty in their battle of wits as they work furiously to wear down the other until one gives up, but neither woman is willing to back down.
With only one writer in the director, we get a helpful streamlined narrative. Flanagan devotes fair amounts of screen-time to his three leads in order to establish them, but the first act focuses on Dan and his journey to normalcy before the second act introduces him to Abra. We only see him and the True Knot for the first half, but we do get to meet Abra as a little girl when her Shine first surfaces, but she becomes a key player once she hits thirteen and the cult seeks her essence. This is actually for the benefit of the narrative so we can follow Dan first as he establishes his normal life and his friendship with the unseen Abra, keeping him the main focus before it becomes about him, Abra and their battle against the True Knot. Flanagan stays pretty faithful to the novel like he did with "Gerald's Game", but does change up moments during the story especially the ending which actually gives closure to Dan and has a cheeky implication if you've seen "The Shining".
The cinematography and music in the film are also well crafted. The music by the Newton Brothers is quite minimalist similar to Ennio Morricone's score for "The Thing" in particular, using a heartbeat prominently in the majority of scenes. There is even use of the classic low brass theme from "The Shining" as we reach the climax and the cinematography echoes how Stanley Kubrick filmed the opening to his film. The landscapes are beautifully crafted due to its mainly rural locations in New Hampshire, Iowa and the finale in Colorado and the color contrasts are all unique to their location. We get mostly blue-gray as we follow Dan, green and pink with Abra's room and dying yellow with the True Knot during the daytime and we get darkness at night since the group is evil; Rose's wardrobe even reflects their nighttime evil as Rebecca Ferguson wears mostly gray, tan and her black hat and even a red skirt mixed with some white in one scene. Even the visual effects are decent due to how practical they look particularly in the eerie blue-white glow in the eyes of the True Knot when they perform their wicked ritual. However one thing I wish the visual effects team had done was use digital imposition for the climax when we see Dan confront his childhood trauma; I won't spoil too much of what I'm referring to, but when you see it I think you'll know what I mean.
In summary, this is a worthy sequel to one of Stephen King's classic works. It is not perfect of course, but I found it more engaging than the cinematic adaptation of "The Shining".
