By Ken Foyle ‘20

Here’s Johnny!

“Doctor Sleep” is the long-awaited movie sequel to Steven King’s novel “The Shining,” following what happened at the Overlook Hotel 30 years later.

“The Shining” was previously adapted for the big screen by Stanley Kubrik in 1980, which became one of the most iconic horror movies of all time.

Just a child in “The Shining,” main character and now adult Danny Torrence, played by Ewan McGregor, struggles with his past in “Doctor Sleep.”

The movie grapples with the theme of inner demons and a troubled past, and it shows alcoholism as the driving force of the characters’ actions. The plot cycles through these issues, like history repeating itself.

“This movie has a lot of underlying themes that contributed to the overall message of the story,” said senior Nate Cook.

“Doctor Sleep,” being a Steven King film adaptation, wasn’t as scary as I had hoped it would be. However, a few of the scenes in the movie were extremely intense and left me with goosebumps.

The scenes that take the characters back to the haunted Overlook hotel were by far some of the best scenes in the movie. The director placed viewers in the same dark, twisted setting that “The Shining” uses.

“I loved the scenes at the Overlook Hotel,” said senior Ryan Rice. “All of the same carpet designs and other creepy aspects of the hotel were brought back to the big screen with such perfection.”

The villains of the movie were a group of psychic vampires longing for souls, who would stop at nothing to eat the souls of those who possess “the shine.” They weren’t scary. They weren’t even that threatening to the protagonists. The main antagonists should have been a lot more sinister.

As a stand-alone film, it lacks a lot of the impressive storytelling and cinematography that Kubrick was able to so wonderfully tie into the original. Also, Kubrick greatly shied away from the book in his movie, whereas “Doctor Sleep” was more similar to King’s vision of how “The Shining” should’ve taken place.

All in all, I would give the movie a 6.5/10 because of its ability to draw the viewers into a creepy, haunted universe, even though it lacks a strong main villain. I’d recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of “The Shining” and/or Steven King fans.

“I loved The Shining and I thought ‘Doctor Sleep’ was a fitting conclusion to the story,” said Senior Ben Blahusiak. If you like movies with masterfully crafted environments and riveting plots and are a fan of ‘The Shining,’ ‘Doctor Sleep’ is the movie for you.”