Doctor Sleep

Based on Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep follows a grown-up Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) as he’s forced to confront his demons in the face of a vicious new threat (Rebecca Ferguson’s Rose the Hat). Filmmaker Mike Flanagan has infused Doctor Sleep with an exceedingly deliberate and surprisingly low-key vibe that does, for the most part, work quite well, and it’s clear, certainly, that the character-study-like atmosphere of the movie’s first act is generally more effective and affecting than one might’ve anticipated. There’s little doubt, though, that Flanagan’s lackadaisical approach paves the way for an erratic midsection that, while consistently entertaining, is only engrossing in fits and starts, with the ongoing emphasis on the picture’s central antagonist certainly contributing heavily to the less-than-consistent feel. (Plenty of the Rose the Hat stuff is interesting, especially her squad’s brutal execution of an unexpected victim, but the 152 minute runtime ensures that there’s ultimately little in the way of momentum.) And although the movie suffers from a fairly significant lull just before the plot threads converge, Doctor Sleep rebounds with a Shining-forward climax that undoubtedly ensures that the whole thing ends on a captivating note – which secures the film’s place as a better-than-average horror followup that (impressively) complements both the original book and movie.

*** out of ****

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