Doctor Sleep
On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless-mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the "steam" that children with the "shining" produce when they are slowly tortured to death. Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep." Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival.
Review
I think you could make the case that the famous rift between what Stephen King wanted The Shining to look like on film and how Kubrick presented it caused this to be a too-strict interpretation. Could’ve take any license, because you just couldn’t, so you wind up with a movie that gets a little boring in the end. Condense the shootout with the Rose confrontation, or something, but cut at least 30 minutes from this thing.
The movie, though, is a lot of fun. There are great references, such as scene remakes and some callouts — the axe scene on the stairs, one of the rooms shown in the movie is 217, the room number from the book. Abra’s home address is 1980, which is the year the original movie was released. I probably missed some if I actually caught those.
I mentioned the actors before. Ewan McGregor was a good choice. I think he brought the exact energy needed to show us Danny at 45. Kyliegh Curran as Abra was perfectly cocky when needed. She played a kid terrified of something she doesn’t quite understand well, too. Cliff Curtis at one point gives a speech that can only be done in a book. I noticed a couple places where this felt like a problem. Both were around him, so possibly he missed the assignment a bit.
Good movie, and a real fun time for this Shining fan. It isn’t on that level, but it’s a fun follow up true to canon, and showcasing what was then a rising, but now supernova-ing talent in Rebecca Ferguson.