Read Mixed User Reviews for Doctor Sleep

6

The3AcademySinsNov 14, 2019

Good performances and interesting cinematography help keep Doctor Sleep afloat. The ending is unfortunately a let down, and overall this sequel to The Shining just feels unnecessary and rushed. Ewan McGregor is fantastic in this movie.Good performances and interesting cinematography help keep Doctor Sleep afloat. The ending is unfortunately a let down, and overall this sequel to The Shining just feels unnecessary and rushed. Ewan McGregor is fantastic in this movie. Overall, I felt Doctor Sleep was a little bit of a let down, but not a waste of time!… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

All this user's reviews

4

BradMorganNov 13, 2019

Scary at times, but too far-fetched. unfortunately the film was a disappointment

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

All this user's reviews

6

amheretojudgeNov 11, 2019

It is the old style filmmaking residing between the temperament that warms the tea and whistles the kettle. I'd like to have a cup of that.

Doctor Sleep Mike Flanagan who directed and adapted this controversial novelization for the screenIt is the old style filmmaking residing between the temperament that warms the tea and whistles the kettle. I'd like to have a cup of that.

Doctor Sleep

Mike Flanagan who directed and adapted this controversial novelization for the screen is an apt choice to voice the second swing by Stephen King on Dan's character and the supernatural element it possesses. Why controversial? It actually is like being in a tug of war game where you are the price. But I think Flanagan found a sweet spot, that gray area that any horror director would love to have in plenty. And that is why his procedure that takes its time properly, gets the job done. It couldn't be more book-ish. It reeks of old book and I love every aspect of that. Each character, every fabric of information that stacks and builds the final countdown brick by brick is simply novelizing.

No regrets. If you have to host a news show as such, you have to stage it like this. No need to celebrate or electrify, just words floating around, so loud, so big that even performance and other characteristics gets overlapped by King's vision. In this sense it feels, I don't want to say anti-Kubrick but definitely pro-King. But you can only walk far away if you are expecting for the audience to read this story on screen rather than experience.

Ergo, comes these stills and thrills that has the mind bending look that appears like Stanley Kubrick's dream. The swooshing and whooshing of the adrenaline rush that warps these characters to their self-created reality and the deafening snapping of reality that wakes them up. Another asset is of course Ewan McGregor as Dan with this time axe on HIS hands. McGregor's performance is magnificent, child like it seems to me, even though he tells it to be inspired from Jack Nicholson's madness. He cries when he is terrified and falls for the easiest motion that exists. All in all, Doctor Sleep is a functioning system. You don't see that nowadays.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

All this user's reviews

5

Kevin3Nov 9, 2019

Una adaptación fiel, Rebecca Ferguson se luce en esta película y ewan mcgregor lo hace bien pero la película se siente pesada con su duración de dos horas y media y llega a aburrir bastante

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

All this user's reviews

5

defdog99Nov 10, 2019

Never read the book. Did see a mini-documentary saying how Stephen King characters show up in other books. So with that said, I understood why Danny was in this one. The 1st part of this movie was pretty good. The 2nd part w/ the OverlookNever read the book. Did see a mini-documentary saying how Stephen King characters show up in other books. So with that said, I understood why Danny was in this one. The 1st part of this movie was pretty good. The 2nd part w/ the Overlook Hotel didn't make any sense and felt like it was shoehorned in to make a weak movie "better". If it was so easy killing the 9 demons, the same method should have worked on the magic lady.… Expand

3 of 8 users found this helpful35

All this user's reviews

5

ColginatorNov 8, 2019

Stanley Kurbrick's The Shining is my all time favourite horror movie. Through a mixture of Kurbrick's meticulous attention to detail and the films haunting score, it had this feeling of constant dread that loomed over every scene. Across theStanley Kurbrick's The Shining is my all time favourite horror movie. Through a mixture of Kurbrick's meticulous attention to detail and the films haunting score, it had this feeling of constant dread that loomed over every scene. Across the film it builds up the history and mythology of Overlook hotel in a way that constantly made us raise questions, but without ever offering us any clear answers. Instead it condensed this history into a story of spousal abuse and combined it with some iconic performances from Nicholson and Duvall to achieve the ideal of what all horror films should strive to achieve.

Needless to say this sets a high bar for any film to live up to. But with King himself writing his own sequel novel in 2013 and the current trend for studios to cash in on as many nostalgic properties as they can, it was only a matter of time before Doctor Sleep got made into a film. We now get a loose adaptation of King's novel following a grown up Danny Torrance after the events of the first film (and not the vastly different book) as he attempts to deal with his dark past and the horrors of the supernatural world.

It's a pretty strong setup for a continuation and at first the film seems to do a decent job at exploring this potential. We see a washed up Danny trapped in a bottle and struggling with the ghosts of the Overlook hotel in a precariously similar situation to his own father. This aspect of the film is definitely elevated by McGreggors performance who really channels his own history with alcoholism in a way where you can see how worn down he's become through a constant battle with his inner demons.

But unfortunately we don't get to explore this side of Danny in too much detail, as just when Danny appears to be getting his life back on track a girl who also has the ability to shine named Abra, played by Kyliegh Curran, approaches him. She needs help dealing with a cult known as the true knot. They're an ancient organisation who preys on "gifted" children to absorb their life in an attempt to gain immortality and are led by a woman named Rose, played by Rebecca Ferguson, who takes sinister joy in creating fear and pain for the young children she kidnaps since she says that it makes them taste better.

Though whilst Ferguson's performance is entertaining, the surrounding history doesn't carry the same weight as that of the Overlook hotel. You would expect that the idea of these characters who have lived potentially millenia would carry some interesting backstories, but there's little depth with most members of the group hardly even getting any dialogue.They also end up being taken care off so easily that it left me wondering why they should have ever been considered a threat to begin with. And it's a big problem when the monsters of a horror film are neither scary nor interesting.

Also whilst the idea of Danny mentoring a young girl just like dick Hallorann did for him seems like it could be interesting, they seem to waste this potential since the girl never seems to need his help. Unlike Danny she doesn't seem detached from the world due to her powers and she's already seems more powerful than Danny so we don't see this dynamic explored.

Then of course there's the return of the Overlook hotel which was teased ever since the first teaser. The original Shining didn't try to rely on jump scares alone to create the Overlooks terrifying presence, instead it slowly built up the structure of the hotel through tracking shots and a dreadful sense of complete isolation. Then when it got to the end with all the spirits revealing themselves it's a hectic explosion of chaos delivering on some horrifying imagery. But here the hotel is just treated like a fun house only appearing in the last act of the film and having appearances of all the spirits crammed into the film without ever delivering on any actual scares.

Unfortunately the only element in the film which really comes close The Shining is the films score, which does a decent job of capturing the tone of the original theme. But outside of this the film just ends up feeling too scattered to be effective. There's not enough suspense to make for a good horror and there's not enough depth to provide us with a good character study. And in terms of capturing the spirit of the original film, unfortunately Ready Player One ended up being the more loyal portrayal.… Expand

2 of 9 users found this helpful27

All this user's reviews

6

Rebecca31Nov 8, 2019

We didn’t really need another chapter to The Shining but we got one anyway so of course I’m going to see it. I’ve read the book and for those of you worried this will be another review where I criticise every detail and go on one of my rantsWe didn’t really need another chapter to The Shining but we got one anyway so of course I’m going to see it. I’ve read the book and for those of you worried this will be another review where I criticise every detail and go on one of my rants about how the book is so much better, rest assured that’s not the case this time. Not only is Doctor Sleep a faithful adaptation but it’s entertaining and has more than enough creepy scenes to send a chill down your spine.

Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) is all grown up and not exactly living his best life. On route to sort his life out he meets Abra, a young girl with a powerful shine. Danny must push aside his demons to protect Abra from a merciless cult, the True Knot who feed on children with the shining. Doctor Sleep keeps the dark tone of the book and I absolutely loved the casting choice of Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat. She is the cold-hearted **** brought to life. It didn’t go overboard with the cheap jump scares, rather leaning into scenes that genuinely disturb you, all while maintaining the sinister atmosphere. Although I was enjoying the scenes recreated from The Shining it plays on your love of the original perhaps a little too much. I felt the time spent paying homage to The Shining was overdone. I liked the new direction Doctor Sleep was taking us so every time another recreation of The Shining cropped up it started to take me out of the film. This isn’t your typical horror, it’s scary in a whole other way. Setting out to frighten you not just by going real quiet only to have something jump at you from the dark while the music gets suddenly loud. The tension builds and you get more time for some character development. Director Mike Flanagan really did a good job with Doctor Sleep, I had my doubts after the trailer but as with many movie trailers these days, they don’t do the film any justice.

It’s no secret that Stephen King hated what Stanley Kubrick did with The Shining though I have to say I have a love for both the book and the film but I can understand why King didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t just a case of the book being better than the film, but they were both completely different to each other. I’m not even sure if Kubrick read all of The Shining, rather he took the general idea and put his own stamp on it. It feels like a Stanley Kubrick film, not a Stephen King film. Doctor Sleep is a completely different story, it stays true to its source material and is a much more faithful book to film adaptation. It feels like Stephen King and admittedly there’s been a few awful adaptations but when a Stephen King adaptation is done right it really is worth the ticket price. Recommended for all you horror fans.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

All this user's reviews

5

acelasherNov 9, 2019

I read the book two months before seeing the movie and was happier than a vampire tick on a rhino's butt I did. The story line felt choppy. Maybe if I hadn't read the book I wouldn't have noticed.

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, whileI read the book two months before seeing the movie and was happier than a vampire tick on a rhino's butt I did. The story line felt choppy. Maybe if I hadn't read the book I wouldn't have noticed.

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, while shifting my weight from left to right butt cheek, I imagined how a person who hadn't read the book could follow this story. If you're going to watch this at a theater, do yourself a favor and scan the Cliff's Notes version of the book before you go.

Rose the Hat should be supernatural evil wrapped in a beautiful body. In the movie, the beauty bit hit the mark, but Rose the Hat seemed a bit more impish than Nosferatu-ish, although the actress delivered perfervid performances in several exhilarating scenes. In fact, most (not all) of the actors and actresses were great.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

All this user's reviews

6

maxadoNov 12, 2019

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. filme muito interessante una sequencia digna de um clássico do cinema filme bem acima da media… Expand

0 of 7 users found this helpful07

All this user's reviews

5

liamexeJan 14, 2023

I haven't read the novel; instead, I've only seen the original movie, like other reviewers. I loved the original, the way the characters evolved, the settings, and the way the whole thing felt. Therefore, I had high expectations for thisI haven't read the novel; instead, I've only seen the original movie, like other reviewers. I loved the original, the way the characters evolved, the settings, and the way the whole thing felt. Therefore, I had high expectations for this sequel in order to maintain the suspense of the first. Despite how much I like the comparison to the original, I believed the first half of the film was overly drawn out. Too many of the scenes may have been condensed or even skipped to improve the climax. I also concur with others that they should have used CGI rather than another actor for significant characters. The conclusion seems like it could have been so much better. It was alright, but lacking in a few key areas.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

All this user's reviews

4

imthenoobJan 29, 2020

I can see why it bombed the way it did. Not that Doctor Sleep was a bad movie but it was a tough one to get into and was very anti-climactic. It never trigged your interest despite having a fine cast and some pretty solid directing. And, IMO,I can see why it bombed the way it did. Not that Doctor Sleep was a bad movie but it was a tough one to get into and was very anti-climactic. It never trigged your interest despite having a fine cast and some pretty solid directing. And, IMO, The ending ruined the movie. They changed too much from the book to really drag fans to seats and I think that is what cost them in the end.

I even watched the Director's Cut hoping for a better movie but nope, the same problems are there it's just annoyingly longer.… Expand