WARNING! THIS REVIEW IS FULL OF SPOILERS! IT IS MEANT TO BE READ BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALREADY READ THE BOOK OR SEEN THE MOVIE! WARNING!
I, like a lot of other people, read the novel this is based on, and I personally feel like it's one of the most faithful adaptations of Kings work to date. Everything about it (except for a few minor gripes) is fucking awesome! Sorry, it just is....
I have to start by saying that I am, in all honesty, not a big fan of the Stanley Kubrick film The Shining. I think that it's a great looking film and I really appreciate the aesthetics of it but I just can't see how ANYONE would go as far as to say that it's the "best film of all time" or even worse: "the scariest film of all time". The Shining never scared me.
I like the novel quite a lot, more so than the film, but even there, I can't say that I think that it's one of the best books by King. Doctor Sleep on the other hand is one of my favourite King novels to date so when I heard they were making a movie directed by Mike Flanagan I was incredibly excited, to say the very least.
I've been a huge fan of Mike Flanagan since I first saw Hush, which to me is as close to a perfect movie you can make within its genre. Everything about it was meticulously executed down to the tiniest of detail.
Flanagan then went on to direct a bunch of other movies including the NETFLIX film Before I Wake, starring Jacob Tremblay (who portrays the not so lucky No. 19, or "the baseball boy" in Doctor Sleep) before directing the Stephen King adaptation Gerald's Game, also for NETFLIX. Being that Gerald's Game garnered such critical acclaim for a direct-to-stream film, and one based on King, one would think that him directing another adaptation, and with a bigger budget; would be inevitable.
So here we are: Doctor Sleep, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name and on the Stanley Kubrick film: The Shining, loosely based on the novel of the same name.
Is it any good?
God yes!
There are countless scenes in this film that are absolutely fucking epic! Like the scene in which we see the True Knot's caravans travelling from one destination to another through a birds eye view. The combination of the jerky; jump-cut editing, the sound effects and the overall sound design in this scene is nothing short of exquisite. So cool!
Then there's the scene in which Rose the Hat visits with Abra and first finds out where she live. This is visualized as Rose levitating off the ground, taking off and flying over the clouds in a way that harkens back to Disney's Peter Pan before landing on the street outside of Abra's house at night. This is so fucking cool! Especially the part of the scene where Rose the Hat's bare feet touch down on the ground at the end. That gave me chills. So good!
The same could be said about all the encounters between Abra and Rose, whether it be the scene in the supermarket or the one in which Abra sets her trap; and of all the scenes featuring the True Knot. But it's not all about the set pieces either, all the stuff in between, like Danny's fight with alcoholism and his work with Azzie at the hospice: It's all so well done!
The cinematography in this film is stunning from beginning to end, so much so that is deserves an Academy Award nomination. The night shots are simply gorgeous! The lighting and blocking of a lot of the scenes in this film is perfect.
So why then, is it that this movie has a metascore of 59? For a lot of the critics it seams as though it has to do with the final 30 minutes or so of the 150 minute film. Yes, it is a bit long.
Anyway, here are my thoughts about the end:
I love everything about it up until the bar scene; How Danny slowly walks through the Overlook waking it up, finally arriving at the bar; realizing his father has indeed become a part of the hotel. Can't remember how the novel ended, but the Kubrick film left that part of it kinda ambiguous.
What follows is a bit of mix between elements from the Doctor sleep novel and newly written material by Flanagan and King, which I find hard to separate since it's been a while since I read the novel. But I don't remember reading about the ghosts of Danny's lock-boxes collectively jumping Rose the Hat. As I remember it it, the end of the novel was pretty small in scale. I vaguely remember the ghost/spirit of Jack Torrence helping out taking care of Rose. Here, I actually prefer the movie version.
Then there's Danny becoming possessed by the Overlook and coming after Abra with an axe, just like Jack after Danny and Wendy in Kubrick's The Shining.
Then there's Abra turning a corner and running into the Grady Twins, just like Danny in Kubrick's The Shining.
Then there's the recreation of the helicopter shots of a car travelling to the Overlook hotel, just like in Kubrick's The Shining.
I feel like there are too many scenes paying homage to a movie I don't really care that much for.
It ends with the Overlook burning (already burnt to the ground in the novel) and Danny dying inside embracing the ghost of his mother. I like this part of it, it does feel more fitting of an ending. In the novel Danny travels back to the hospice to help a guy who wasn't that nice to him pass away knowing there's an afterlife, which is sweet but rather boring in comparison.
Also, with Danny being dead and his spirit living on like Dick's did, that makes things come full circle.
Finally...
Here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
*The amazing cast featuring a breakout performance by Kyliegh Curran who is everything I ever wanted in Abra. She manages to portray someone who is extremely powerful and bit cocky but still fragile and human at times. She's so good! Other noteworthy performances include Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat (her best performance to date?), Cliff Curtis as Billy, Zahn McClarnon as Crow Daddy and Emily Alyn Lind as Snakebite Andi.
* Masterful direction/editing by Flanagan.
* Impressive screenplay (minus some of the stuff at the very end)
* Stunning cinematography!!
* Great music and sound design! I Love the rhythmically thumping heartbeat!
* Not shying away from the disturbingly brutal ways in which the True Knot extract Steam from KIDS.
* Skipping the plot-line regarding the True Knot becoming sick with the measels. That was quite interesting in the novel, but it would have taken time explaining.
* The choice to leave the whole Uncle Dan really IS Uncle Dan plot-line in the novel out of the film.
* The slightly different but much improved upon cycling effect used when the True Knot members die.
* The look and overall depiction of the True Knot.
Cons:
* The obvious wigs worn by the actors playing young Danny and Jack Torrence. Might just be bad haircuts?
* Not enough of the creepy chanting.
* Abra's Force-throw of Crow Daddy's truck is a bit over-the-top.
* The annoying twins homage at the end.
* Having Danny become possessed by the Overlook just like Jack.
* The VFX work in the scene where the Overlook is burning.
* Slight pacing issues and overall running time.
Doctor Sleep is my favourite movie so far this year overtaking Joker and It: Chapter 2 on my list.
It's easily one the best "horror movies" of the year. It might not be all that scary, but it sure is scarier than The Shining. Hehe
9/10
