I don't remember when I saw The Shining exactly, but I was a teenager and it scared the shit out of me. Between it and 2001: A Space Odyssey, I became a huge Stanley Kubrick fan. Stephen King apparently was not a fan. I never understood King's beef with Kubrick, because it was the greatest film based on his work until Misery came along and then The Shawshank Redemption. Anyway, if you are a fan of King's work or a fan of Kubrick's, Doctor Sleep might surprise you. It certainly did for me. What's it all about? Remember the little kid in The Shining, Dan Torrance, little Danny? Well he grew up and PTSDed into an alcoholic - his father tried to murder him and his mother with an axe, so it's understandable. Dan (Ewan McGregor) also has the gift of telepathy, although he calls it shining. There are a bunch of others out there like Dan where their powers merge into telekinesis. There is a bad bunch of them who go around like vampires and suck the shine out of others of their kind. They do this so they can live an extra long time. Does it sound ridiculous? Yes it does and it is. But here is the thing, it's really well crafted and it sucked me in. This film looks great and there are little homage bits to Kubrick all over the place, including some of the haunting musical score from the original. There are just so many wonderful visuals in this film. Anyway, back to the story. These vampire shiners, they sense a presence out there of a super powerful shiner, a young girl named Abra (Kyliegh Curran) and they want to eat her, consume her shine. Well Abra and Dan are friends as they have been communicating telepathically through Dan's chalkboard wall. I know, it's ridiculous, but I'm telling you, I got sucked in. Dan won't let them eat Abra and well I don't think I will tell you anymore. Doctor Sleep shines. Catch it on Streaming Services.
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