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Doctor Sleep (2019)
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
4K UHD Released: 2/4/2020
All Ratings out of
Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 2/7/2020
I’m not sure what the first novel to be adapted for the big screen was, but I’m
sure that it didn’t take long for the “The book was better than the movie”
debate to begin, and so it’s been for decades.
I’ve always felt that the book vs. movie question may lie in which one to
which you were first exposed. And
then there are those entries which break the rules.
I first saw The Shining in 1980 or 1981 and remember being
confused and underwhelmed. (I also
remember Fangoria naming it the worst movie of the year.)
A few years later, I read Stephen King’s novel and was blown away by how
deep it is and how much story was left out of the film.
All of these years later, I’m still lukewarm on Kubrick’s film.
There are definitely some great visuals, but the acting is awful and it’s
certainly not scary. Given that, I
didn’t know what to expect from the late to the party sequel Doctor Sleep.
Decades after his experiences in The Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance (Ewan
McGregor) is a mess. He’s an
alcoholic, using the drinking to block out the image and voices which come with
his psychic gift, known as “shining”.
After a particularly unseemly night of debauchery, Dan moves to a small
town in New Hampshire to begin a new life.
He meets a man named Billy (Cliff Curtis) who gives him a job, and he
joins AA. As the years pass, Dan is
able to find some solitude.
Unbeknownst to him, a woman named Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her
followers, who call themselves “The True Knot”, are roaming the country feeding
off of the energy produced by those who “shine”.
This energy enables them to live without aging.
When a particularly strong “shiner” named Abra (Kyliegh Curran) is
detected, Rose is determined to have her.
What she doesn’t know is that Abra and Dan have formed a psychic link and
Dan is convinced that he must protect the girl, even if it means revisiting his
dark past.
Those who have seen The Shining and read the source novel know that the
two diverge on many plot points.
When King released the novel Doctor Sleep in 2013, it was based on the
events seen in his previous novel, not those which occurred in Kubrick’s film.
Writer/Director Mike Flanagan took up the daunting task of adapting
Doctor Sleep into a movie and he’s created an interesting hybrid which is
the best of both worlds. Yes, he
could have made a movie which was a direct transfer of King’s novel, but if it
were advertised as a sequel to The Shining, those who only know that
movie would be expecting things from that movie.
So, Flanagan has made some adjustments to King’s story, bringing in the
fate of Dick Hallorann (here played by Carl Lumbly) and The Overlook itself,
from the original film. This
obviously changes things which happened in Doctor Sleep, but it makes for
a movie which is trying hard to please a variety of audiences.
And, for the most part, it works.
At 2 ½ hours, Flanagan has allowed himself plenty of time to introduce the
characters and tell the story. (A
3-hour Director’s Cut is also included here.)
While a lot has obviously cut from King’s book and the above changes
made, this still feels like novel-esque movie.
We watch Dan mature and grow, as he attempts to come to grips with his
power and his attempts to lock out his dark memories, while at the same time, we
grow to loathe Rose and her band of dark agents due to the awful things they do.
Simultaneously, we are introduced to Abra and her connection to both.
Those familiar with King’s work (more on that in a moment) will
appreciate how Flanagan has mimicked the way in which King will unveil seemingly
distinct storylines and have them slowly come together.
This approach does require patience from the viewer, but the payoff is worth it,
as we are treated to a very well-made and full-developed film.
I hate to put it this way, but this is truly a horror film for grown-ups.
Yes, there is violence and gore, but there is also a very mature approach
to the subject matter and we are made to truly feel for these characters.
Again, Flanagan is able to translate King, so when bad things happen to
our heroes (and they do), we experience a gut-punch.
Having said that, the film isn’t perfect.
In attempt to digest a 531-page novel, while also bringing in elements
from Kubrick’s film, Flanagan has been forced to condense some things and some
of the plot points are lacking in detail.
Also, King’s brand is based on taking old ideas and making them seem new,
but elements of this reminded me of Scanners and his own Sleepwalkers.
Doctor Sleep
is a worth successor to The Shining and a better sequel than The
Shining deserves. Fresh off of
his success with
The Haunting of Hill House, Flanagan continues to prove that he’s a
filmmaker who truly enjoys telling a story.
One of the best parts about this movie is that Flangan truly gets King
and the “That’s a Stephen King thing” moments that those who have read his books
will recognize. (What is life like
for the people who haven’t read his books?)
Doctor Sleep
should have chosen a creepier name than “The Hat” for the villain on 4K UHD
courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the Disc contains an HEVC
2160p transfer which runs at an average of 70 Mbps.
The image is very sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and no defects
from the source materials. This is
a dark movie, and there are some moments here which border on being too dark,
but the action is always visible.
Despite this darkness, the brighter colors (most notably the reds) look good.
The level of detail is impressive and the depth works well.
The Disc carries a Dolby Atmos audio track which runs at 48 kHz and an
average of 5.0 Mbps. The track
provides clear dialogue and sound effects.
The action sequences provide a wealth of surround sound effects, many of
which are highly detailed – we can easily pick out individual sounds from the
rear channels. The subwoofer also
packs a wallop during these sequences.
The stereo effects nicely highlight sounds coming from off-screen.
The Doctor Sleep 4K UHD contains a few extra features.
“From Shining to Sleep” (5 minutes) has Flangan and King
discussing the connections between the two books and how Kubrick’s The
Shining ties into Doctor Sleep.
It’s very interesting to hear King give his views on the film.
King and Flanagan continue their discussions in “The Making of Doctor
Sleep: A New Vision” (14 minutes).
Here McGregor, Ferguson, and the actors who play members of the cult also
appear here to discuss their characters and their experiences on the film.
The piece offers a nice amount of on-set footage and we get a look at
some of the stunts and the special effects makeup.
The recreation of the haunted hotel set is examined in “Return to the
Overlook” (15 minutes). We hear
form the designers and builders and we see spaces being constructed.