Doctor Sleep (Flanagan)

[Skitch]

King hates Kubrick Shining because plot changes.

King loves Flanagan Doctor Sleep ignores plot changes.

[Skitch]

Gonna have to roll around this third act awhile
Quite a bit different from the book.

Also, King and his ire at Kubricks adaptation can straight fuck off at this point. If hes gonna slob all over this film than have a Coke and a smile when it comes to Kubricks film, ya damn hypocrite.

[Peng]

Did you Coke (out) like King when typing these too? :D And I’m someone who thinks King’s criticism of Kubrick’s film a bit silly (tho understandable) but both of these posts kinda grossly simplifies the issue he has with it (I’m on the phone so: a very personal book is adapted by changing a very personal aspect the most, etc. etc.)

[Skitch]

It would be understandable if his opinion was consistent. It is not. I would say the third act of Doctor Sleep was as radically changed as The Shining if not more...as far as book to film translations go.

[TGM]

I really liked this, though it’s a very strange movie. Like, it feels like two entirely different movies, where the bulk of it very much feels like we’re watching an especially well made YA movie, and then suddenly, oh shit, it’s the fucking Shining. And yet despite it feeling so radically different at times, it still really works for me? I dunno, but I think a lesser director would’ve certainly stumbled with that, but Flanagan somehow makes it work.

It certainly helps that the new stuff is so well executed. Again, there’s a lot of odd choices, such as how it’s actually the villains who find themselves often in the horror situations, which as a result, there’s very little tension, and we’re left rooting for them to get it. And yeah, I can’t emphasize just how much this sorta thing happens in this movie, but again, it somehow still works anyways? Even though it really probably shouldn’t?

The mind aspect stuff is a big highlight throughout the movie, and Jacob Tremblay’s scenes are especially effective. Also loved the beating heartbeat of a score, definitely the best use of music in a Flanagan flick so far.

And the bar scene, despite being one of the simplest scenes in the whole movie, is honest to god some of the most gripping cinema I’ve seen all year.

Again, this movie feels like it SHOULD be a total mess, but that’s just a testament to just how damn good a director Mike Flanagan actually is that me manages to make it work all the same, cause this movie left me feeling like only two other movies this year so far (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and Joker), where watching this movie just felt like SUCH a breath of fresh air in the modern landscape of Hollywood.

[Skitch]

Also loved the beating heartbeat of a score, definitely the best use of music in a Flanagan flick so far.


This was one of my biggest negatives. It was way, WAY, overused. There were times where the tension was destroyed because of that damn heartbeat. It was almost headache inducing, especially in scenes where silence would've been so much more effective.

[TGM]

I never got that feeling personally. What scenes were you thinking would work better without it?

[Skitch]

When they approach the Overlook and hes walking it. Silence wouldve been perfect, instead of the thumping.

[TGM]

Alright, I can see that.

[Ezee E]

Going to see this next week whilst working in Utah.

[Ezee E]

This movie has elements of disaster and elements of masterpiece to the tune that I can't really think of a straight-forward movie that's done this before.

On one hand, I love the world this is set in, with elements of vampires, the "Shining", and ghosts.
On the other hand, some of the characters are so miscast, and the main girl is so settled into her Shining that it seems like she's had it for eons.

On one hand, the use of the Overlook hotel immediately brings back dread and I never quite knew which direction the movie would take.
But then on the other hand, some of those routes that it did take were straight up stupid.

On one hand, I loved the recovering addict that was Danny Torrance, but the pain had never gone away. I also really liked Rebecca Ferguson's Rose in the Hat character. Would certainly be interested in knowing more of that character.
On the other hand, the film kind of gives them horrible ways to go out


The movie manages to somewhat get around the castings of Scatman Crothers and Shelley Duvall, but probably should've avoided all things Jack

In the end, I think I love this "world" that's created enough that I'm giving the movie a pass, but I can certainly understand someone that would hate it too.

[Pop Trash]

This should have irritated me more than it does. It has one of those structures similar to Titanic or OUATIH where you get sucked into one story then in the last act it's like "oh shit, that's right, THIS happens." In those other films it's the iceberg and ship sinking and Manson murders, respectively. In Doctor Sleep, it's the return to the Overlook and -consequently- the shift of the film into a full blown sequel to Kubrick's The Shining. I guess I can see why some people wouldn't like this, but I found the postmodern blurring of King, Kubrick, and Flanagan's own vision to be fascinating.

People have brought up 2010 in its relation to Kubrick's 2001, and I can see that, but I also thought of the way The Last Jedi, BR 2049, and even the underrated Psycho II use sequels to iconic films as collective memory pieces, reflecting on the events from decades away and how they shaped the characters.

[Milky Joe]

This was fuuuuucking terrible.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I liked this one. It's shockingly not-bad and even often quite good, esp. whenever Rose the Hat is onscreen. The astral projection scene is wonderful. The Overlook stuff at the end isn't quite as good, although it's fun to see those places and characters again. Flanagan's just good. Classical craftsmanship, every shot considered, the characters given room to breathe before the fantasy elements take over.

[Grouchy]

I wish I liked this film more but I don't. I like that it builds a new world without paying slavish praise to the original movie, at least until the last third. I like many of its concepts which I assume come from King's novel which I haven't read. And I like that it feels like a '90s movie at times, concerned with its pacing and structure and not only with show-stopping visual effects which it also has.

But at two and a half hours long, I feel it never becomes quite as tense and gripping as it should be. There are many scenes of pedestrian overexplaining of themes and musings about the special powers, but despite the fact that I liked this expanded mythology the most (and yeah, Rebecca Ferguson as Rose in the Hat is a highlight, she's so bloody sexy and mysterious) the only really compelling scenes are the ones set in the Overlook because the movie takes the time for the character development but doesn't do it properly. Also, the villains are strangely overpowered by the good guys which is a trend I'm beginning to notice in cinema for some reason - I got the same feeling from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Us.

[Mal]

I agree with Grouchy for the most part, but I actually don't think the things at the Overlook are done well at all. Particularly, the movie looks like ass and the camera framing blows, even when trying to imitate Kubrick. I can't recommend this, but its for sure an interesting failure. The stuff with Jacob Tremblay will probably haunt me for a couple days- talk about horrifying, ugh.

[Peng]

[Director’s Cut]

Similar to reading a pretty good late-period Stephen King -- slightly bloated but increasingly involving dark fantasy, with a sensitivity for characters and their past traumas. The latter aspect makes it yet another material that fits snugly into Flanagan’s filmography, and his meticulously old-school, gorgeous craftsmanship serves the intersection of King, Kubrick’s film, and Flanagan’s own interest quite well. He compensates for a lack of really heartfelt and/or gripping protagonist(s) like in his past works (not through McGregor’s fault, it’s just that his character writing is bound by past material and also by having to share the spotlight) through Rebecca Ferguson as a most fun, potentially iconic villain, by turn deliciously sinister and just mystically cool. 7/10

[Ezee E]

If anything, I'd almost like a separate story on Ferguson's story, especially during the time when the original Shining took place. But guessing that will not be happening.

[Dead & Messed Up]

In the time since I decided this was "pretty good," that judgment has graduated to "excellent." I'm kind of in love with this film. Its deliberate pacing, how it approaches Dan's alcoholism, how it carefully cleaves away some of the silliest stuff in the novel (which I'm currently listening to on audiobook), how Kyliegh Curran as Abra stays on the right side of precocious. Rebecca Ferguson's Rose the Hat is slowly becoming one of my favorite horror villains. On the page, this character is just preposterous. In action, she's eerie, full of presence, sexy. Step on my neck, you psychic minx you, tell me about my shine. At his worst, Flanagan's careful composition can feel a bit airless, but he mostly finds a Darabontian (sic) groove and sticks to it, especially once the story slips out of prologue. I love how this film takes its time to introduce the characters, to give them individual lives and stories. It's easy to imagine some producer in Hollywood looking at this story and losing their mind over how long it takes for Danny and Abra to actually meet. But it's the right amount of time for us to believe them as people. The Green Mile similarly took its sweet-ass time playing all its cards, but that's how King at his novelistic best operates. Focusing on building the verisimilitude of Blue Jeans America lives and letting the fantasy-horror sneak in from odd angles.

[Dukefrukem]

I loved this

[Skitch]

I loved this

Theatrical or DC?

[Dukefrukem]

Theatrical or DC?

Theatrical

[Dukefrukem]

In the time since I decided this was "pretty good," that judgment has graduated to "excellent." I'm kind of in love with this film. Its deliberate pacing, how it approaches Dan's alcoholism, how it carefully cleaves away some of the silliest stuff in the novel (which I'm currently listening to on audiobook), how Kyliegh Curran as Abra stays on the right side of precocious. Rebecca Ferguson's Rose the Hat is slowly becoming one of my favorite horror villains. On the page, this character is just preposterous. In action, she's eerie, full of presence, sexy. Step on my neck, you psychic minx you, tell me about my shine. At his worst, Flanagan's careful composition can feel a bit airless, but he mostly finds a Darabontian (sic) groove and sticks to it, especially once the story slips out of prologue. I love how this film takes its time to introduce the characters, to give them individual lives and stories. It's easy to imagine some producer in Hollywood looking at this story and losing their mind over how long it takes for Danny and Abra to actually meet. But it's the right amount of time for us to believe them as people. The Green Mile similarly took its sweet-ass time playing all its cards, but that's how King at his novelistic best operates. Focusing on building the verisimilitude of Blue Jeans America lives and letting the fantasy-horror sneak in from odd angles.

Well said. I haven't put my thoughts to screen yet, but this.

[Skitch]

Check out the DC. It's much better paced.

[DFA1979]

Gonna need to see the DC. But just like Duke I also loved this. More thoughts to come on the blog!

[DFA1979]

King hates Kubrick Shining because plot changes.

King loves Flanagan Doctor Sleep ignores plot changes.

I looked up the book after seeing the movie and yeah they changed quite a bit. I feel the changes work however. I still haven't bothered to see the mini series since I rather like Kubrick's film. Need to read The Shining at some point and Doctor Sleep.

[megladon8]

Biggest difference between The Shining book and film for me is the character Jack. In the book he is sympathetic. A good man with demons, preyed upon by the hotel which brings out the worst in him.

In the movie Jack is kind of a prick right from the start. Resentment towards his wife and son is palpable in the car ride to the Overlook. It felt like the hotel didn't bring out the worst in him, so much as gave him permission to act out what he already kind of wanted to do.

[DFA1979]

Hmm when phrased like that no wonder King didn't care for Kubrick's adaptation.

[Dukefrukem]

What's most impressive about this movie is how Flanagan navigated this somehow being a sequel to the movie, but also an adaptation of the book.

[Skitch]

What's most impressive about this movie is how Flanagan navigated this somehow being a sequel to the movie, but also an adaptation of the book.

Yeeeep. Both movie endings are completely different from the novels. Arguable better.

[megladon8]

Watched this last night. The director's cut. Honestly, nothing at all felt superfluous here. I am not sure I will ever bother with the theatrical, outside of maybe morbid curiosity. The idea of more than 30 minutes being cut is like...how? From where?

Sorry to repeat what so many have already said, but Flanagan's skill in adapting the book while also being a sequel to Kubrick's film is incredible. Needless to say, THIS is how you make a sequel to a 40 year old classic.

Everyone is phenomenal in their roles. Kyleigh Curran is freaking fantastic. She didn't just hold her own against Ferguson and McGregor, she steals the show frequently. Magnificent child actor.

The film is chilling from the start, the pacing perfect. The plot is propelled by the characters and their actions rather than the reverse (TL;DR it's written really well). Has a few solid emotional moments that don't feel hackneyed or manipulative.

I've read criticisms that the film looks "cheap" like a TV show or Netflix movie. Honestly never got that feeling aside from the occasional bad CGI which was surely just budgetary constraint.

The returns to the Overlook are chilling. So well executed. But the movie doesn't feel like a slavish sequel or recreation of the original film by Kubrick. It is its own beast and man, what a bite it has.

I really can't say enough about how much I loved this.

Mike Flanagan is a revelation in American on-screen horror.

[Skitch]

I watched theatrical and DC in the span of a month. I would be hard pressed to tell you what was added, and theres like 40 minutes. I agree, nothing felt like padding. It needed the extra time. Theatrical felt rushed, DC felt right.

[DFA1979]

Also shoutout to Cliff Curtis, who is one of those underrated "That guys."

[DFA1979]

Review: Doctor Sleep (2019) (https://madman731.wordpress.com/2020/10/21/horrorfest-2020-presents-doctor-sleep-2019-mike-flanagan/)

[Skitch]

Review: Doctor Sleep (2019) (https://madman731.wordpress.com/2020/10/21/horrorfest-2020-presents-doctor-sleep-2019-mike-flanagan/)

I felt the DC evened out a lot of pacing issues I had with the theatrical. DC for me on this one.

[DFA1979]

I felt the DC evened out a lot of pacing issues I had with the theatrical. DC for me on this one.

That sounds good. This is one movie that could have been 3 hours at least.