Hello horror pals, Slick Dungeon here. I’m back to review yet another Stephen King adaptation. This time I’ll be talking about the criminally underrated sequel to The Shining known as Doctor Sleep. There will be spoilers in this review so if that bothers you, head over to a massive abandoned and isolated hotel, enter room 237, ignore anything undead in the room, watch the movie, and then come on back here to read the review!

Doctor Sleep background

In 2013 Stephen King published a book no one was expecting. It was titled Doctor Sleep and was a sequel to one of his most famous novels, The Shining. Soon after, Akiva Goldsman wrote a script adapting the novel. The script languished without a budget until It became a box office hit in 2017. Enter Mike Flanagan.

Flanagan had already proven his chops with Gerald’s Game so if anyone could adapt a Stephen King novel of this force, it would be him.

The film was released on Halloween 2019 internationally but didn’t premiere in the United States until November 8th of that year. The film grossed $72.4 million and was well received by critics and audiences. Yet this was considered a disappointment as it did not earn as well as other King adaptations that year, including It Chapter Two and Pet Sematary.

This makes the film a perfect choice this Halloween as there are plenty of people who have not seen it and it delivers on the scares and on the performances.

Surviving trauma

Dan Torrance endured a horrific ordeal at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado in 1980. There, a malevolent evil awakened, tormenting Dan and his mother. And his father, Jack tried to kill the two of them in the incident. Jack Torrance died as a result.

But the ghosts are not done with Danny. They keep coming to him, trying to invade his mind and take his “shine” from him. Dick Hallorann, the ghost of the man who helped Dan survive teaches him how to lock away these ghosts in his mind. But not all goes well for Dan Torrance.

Driven to drink

in 2011 Dan is a full blown alcoholic and addict. He gets into bar fights and goes home with strange women. In one incident he takes money from a single mother who he sleeps with. He’s haunted by his own actions but the alcohol is clearly a coping mechanism to deal not only with his trauma but with his psychic abilities.

Dan goes to a small town in New Hampshire where he makes a friend named Billy Freeman. Freeman gives Dan a job and sponsors him in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Dan tells a doctor at one of his AA meetings where he left his watch. The doctor offers Dan a job as an orderly at a hospice care facility. While there, Dan is especially good at reassuring dying patience, letting them know we continue after death. This is how he earns the nickname Doctor Sleep.

Also, Dan makes a psychic connection with a young girl named Abra Stone. Dan’s life is in recovery but the horrors are still waiting for him.

True Knot

Meanwhile, a group of psychic vampires led by Rose “the Hat” preys upon psychic children. They need the “shine” or what they call “steam” these kids have in order to live. To get it, they have to torture and murder children. It’s the reverse of how Dan helps people.

With only a few people in the world capable of psychic ability things are tough for this group. They are near starving.

In 2019 the group kills a young boy and Abra Stone sees it happen with her psychic powers. She reaches out to Dan Torrance to tell him what happened. With Abra’s level of psychic ability, it is only a matter of time before True Knot comes for her.

Doctor Sleep to the rescue

Dan can’t sit on the sidelines any longer. He tells his friend Billy what is going on, risking his friendship and recovery. They take a trip to where Abra says the little boy True Knot murdered is buried. The friends find the body and confirm True Knot is doing what Abra says they are.

Dan decides to set a trap for the group. They fool the majority of True Knot into thinking they have captured Abra. But Dan and Billy are waiting with shotguns and kill most of the cultists.

Still remaining are Crow Daddy, a top lieutenant in the group, and Rose the Hat. Crow Daddy captures Abra and drives away with her. But Danny helps Abra by using his psychic powers to make Crow Daddy crash his van and die.

The final showdown at the Overlook

Rose the Hat is furious with Abra for killing all her friends. She’s out for blood and needs Abra in order to keep living. But Dan Torrance knows the perfect place to stage a psychic fight.

The Overlook Hotel has been abandoned for years. But as soon as Dan arrives, it comes to life. The ghosts are still there. In a brutal and vicious showdown Rose the Hat fights with Dan psychically. But he unleashes all those horrific ghosts he’s locked up through the years. Rose the Hat dies. However, the ghosts have Dan and they want Abra.

Dan comes at Abra with an ax but he’s able to stop the ghosts long enough for her to escape. Prior to confronting Rose the Hat, Dan rigged the boiler room to blow. He sets the whole place on fire, himself included. He dies so Abra can live. And it should be noted, it’s the exact opposite choice his own father made.

Doctor Sleep in conclusion

This film doesn’t work if you haven’t seen The Shining. But if you have, this is full of great scares and references from the first film. Mike Flanagan was smart enough not to use de-aged actors for the parts played by Shelley Duvall or Jack Nicholson. But the set design is eerily familiar in those scenes.

There is more nuance here than in The Shining. This film is more than a simple descent into madness. This is about what people should do when they make mistakes. It’s also got a fantastic cast who deliver top notch performances. Much of Mike Flanagan’s work has been lauded in recent years but for some reason this film is consistently overlooked. For a great Halloween double feature, throw on The Shining followed by Doctor Sleep. Just stay out of room 237.

Sleepily yours,

Slick Dungeon

Want More?

Want to see some of my other King reviews? Take a look here!

Looking for a good King read? Check out this one!