It’s been nearly forty years since we first ventured to the the Overlook Hotel, and all these decades later we’re finally taking a look back with the release of the Stephen King adaptation Doctor Sleep. And while young Danny is now Dan Torrance, little else has changed in the world of The Shining — there are still a lot of terrors lurking in the shadows and around corners, with horrors waiting to prey on those gifted with special abilities. And while the movie has yet to premiere, some have been lucky enough to see the spectacle.
Critics and other media personalities were invited to an event screening for the new horror film directed by Mike Flanagan, and it sounds like we could have a worthy contender to Stanley Kubrick’s classic!
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Flanagan admitted that he didn’t want to imitate the performances in The Shining, which created a new challenge in finding cast members to stay true to the original vision.
“I didn’t want people to come in and do an impression, I waned people to come in and do their version of Wendy Torrance or Dick Hallorann,” Flanagan said. “Because we’re using so much of the visual language of the [Stanley] Kubrick film, I wanted these actors to remind me of Shelley Duvall and of Scatman Crothers and that was enough, if they could have just a couple of notes that reminded me of those other actors and then, take the character over from there into a new place, that’s what I wanted. I hope we pulled that off. It’s gonna be one of the more controversial aspects of the movie, to be sure.”
Read on to see the first reactions to Doctor Sleep!
Amon Warmann
You can add #DoctorSleep to the list of long 2019 movies that don’t drag. Come for Rebecca Ferguson slaying it as the villain. Stay for Kyliegh Curran’s barnstorming debut (and the cute cat). pic.twitter.com/T2QpfIECqw
— Amon Warmann (@awarmann) October 25, 2019
Scott J. Davis
#DoctorSleep soars on the wings of two tremendous performances: young Kyliegh Curran and Rebecca Ferguson, the latter absolutely terrifying as Rose the Hat, possibly the best things she’s ever done. Fans of the books, and Kubrick’s ferocious original, will have lots of enjoy.
— Scott J. Davis (@scottwritesfilm) October 25, 2019
Amanda Keats
Brilliant, disturbing, impressive, clever, emotional, surprising, a visual delight… but enough about me. #DoctorSleep is great, peeps. But bloody graphic with the violence in parts and very upsetting but so well done. I can see why Stephen King and team Kubrick approve. pic.twitter.com/tSHco2MZZi
— Amanda in the Woods (@filmvsbook) October 25, 2019
Jack Walsh
#DoctorSleep is a movie that I have not seen yet but judging from my Twitter timeline it seems like if you mention #DoctorSleep three times in a tweet then #DoctorSleep‘s director @flanaganfilm appears from out of nowhere and retweets you! pic.twitter.com/EA6j33S9Kb
— Jack Walsh (@Jerk_Burton) October 25, 2019
Jamie Graham
Doctor Sleep has its flaws but Mike Flanagan has made a good fist of conjoining the seemingly irreconcilable Shining universes of Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick. In a year that’s featured prestige adaps Pet Sematary and It Chapter Two, this is my favourite King movie
— Jamie Graham (@jamie_graham9) October 25, 2019
Jim Vejvoda
Doctor Sleep is a well crafted, very creepy and often scary thriller that cleverly recreates moments and sets from The Shining. The cast is great, especially young Kyliegh Curran. Definitely a big thumbs up for the film from me. pic.twitter.com/EJvuMaMPTc
— My Halloween Name Is Jim Vejvoda (@JimVejvoda) October 25, 2019
Drew Taylor
I really, really loved #DoctorSleep. @flanaganfilm is a master and one of the greatest adapters of King’s material. Somehow manages to do the novel, King’s original novel for #TheShining and Kubrick’s adaptation justice all at once. Scary, thrilling and very sad. See it ASAP. pic.twitter.com/UTLavlhNzL
— Drew Taylor (@DrewTailored) October 25, 2019
Jason Gorber
I -loved- #DoctorSleep, such a brilliant love letter to Kubrick’s original, unafraid to be both thrilling and entirely worshipful of what came before. Equal parts nostalgia and axing it’s own path, not unlike the (underloved) 2010, it’s my most surprising gem of 2019. pic.twitter.com/328Kp2jtlH
— Jason Gorber (@filmfest_ca) October 25, 2019
PJ Campbell
.@flanaganfilm’s #DoctorSleep: in a year full of great @StephenKing adaptations, this one is far and away my favorite. McGregor gives an absolutely fantastic and soulful performance as the haunted Danny Torrance. An amazing standalone film as well excellent sequel to The Shining! pic.twitter.com/ASIY0CljMN
— PJ Campbell (@pj_campbell) October 25, 2019
Haleigh Foutch
#DoctorSleep is another trauma-fuelled emotional horror from Flanagan that made me ugly cry in public. Understandably shakes up the book quite a bit, but keeps King’s heart right where it needs to be. Where does one sign up for Rebecca Ferguson’s cult? Asking for a friend. pic.twitter.com/Jfs2FggiPf
— Haleigh Foutch (@HaleighFoutch) October 25, 2019
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