Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Doctor Sleep 

This is a great worthy sequel to the Shining! This film is a greatly effective and well made continuation of Danny Torrance’s story as the film really explores the headspace and emotional state that the events of what happened at the overlook hotel those many years ago and the massive effect it’s had on him psychologically. I had very high expectations going into this film as the shining is held to a high standard as one of cinemas finest films and so when they set out to make a sequel based off the follow up to the shining I was obviously interested but a bit afraid to see if they would do it justice. I can say that Doctor sleep is a marvellous Stephen King adaptation it doesn’t try to be what the shining was but instead capture how Danny has carried the emotional scars from the events of the overlook hotel with a terrific leading performance and greatly effective jump scares that don’t feel predictable but very genuine and smartly set up. 

Firstly, The film doesn’t try to be what the shining is and people who are going to make that comparison to the shining I get it because these two story’s are connected but you can’t compare the shining to this film that’s not fair as they both tell the story of Danny yes but at such different points in his life. As the shining chronicles when he was a boy and here it shows the aftermath of the events and a thing I was worried about early on was if they were just going to give fan service to the fans of the shining but just showing flashbacks. They do have a good amount of fan service but it never feels like it’s doing it to frequently it actually uses it to its benefit to wove it into the narrative in a smart and interesting way that doesn’t feel like it’s just their because it’s a reference but actually has some really well thought out meaning behind it.

Ewan McGregor gives a fantastic portrayal of Danny Torrance with such inner pain and terrific emotional depth. He shows the incredible layers and trauma he has suffered and it’s brought so brilliantly to the screen by Ewan who shows a heartbreaking portrayal of the character in such a compelling performance that is just outstanding to watch. The supporting performances are very solid as well as another strength this film has was the antagonist in the film didn’t feel shallow or not fully utilized but the villain of this film had such great depth and they really fleshed out the antagonist to be as interested into them as you are with Danny and that’s another strong suit this film has is their terrific execution of its villain. As Rebecca Ferguson gives a menacing performance as the antagonist of this film that is unpredictable, unsettling and Rebecca plays her perfectly showing such dark depths to her we hadn’t seen before onscreen. Another fantastic performance that is in this film is Kyliegh Curran who captures a incredible performance in this film as the young actress brings a great emotional range of fear, sadness and a whole layer of Emotion that really impressed me with a performance that is such fun to watch when she’s onscreen. Everyone else involved all have solid work and really fully captured their characters so greatly. 

Lastly, Doctor Sleep is a terrifying, satisfying and all around terrific continuation of Danny’s story that shows the emotional pain but also how he has to confront his past in order to get the pain to go away and the film captures it so well with terrific performances greatly timed and written scares as well as great fan service that never felt to much or to little Doctor Sleep is one of the best and most enjoyable horror films I’ve seen all year I recommend everyone go check this film out. 

This film takes place many years after the events of the overlook hotel and Danny Torrance is now an adult who has been having difficult ways with hoping with the pain that haunts him from what happened to him as a child but when a group of people are after anyone who has the shining Danny must confront his past in order to be able to heal himself

Rated R : for disturbing and violent content, some bloody images, language, nudity and drug use

Ewan McGregor : Ewan is fantastic in this film! Ever since I first saw him in Star Wars I have always loved seeing him onscreen he has this charm that makes you want to see him all the time and here the character actor brings another greatly crafted performance. Ewan has taken on big character names as he did the massive franchise that is Star Wars but ever since I haven’t seen him do any really big budget films until last year with Goodbye Christopher Robin. I am not complaining in any sense I love seeing him in dramatic more low budget films as he has shown his range as an actor in incredible work over the years but taking on Danny Torrence which is one of horror cinema’s most iconic child characters is no easy task. Here he goes places emotionally with the character that is amazing to watch as since he is playing Danny after the events of the Shining he is able to explore so many places with the character personality wise and emotionally we had yet to see. Here Ewan gives a greatly emotionally heartbreaking performance as he shows the very deep rooted emotional scars that have affected him psychologically and psychically as he wrestles with the demons of his past and Ewan presents that onscreen in such a hard hitting emotional way as when we see him throughout this film Ewan has this vulnerability to him that he brings to the character as he looks like he might break down into tears within seconds but try to hold it back and be strong thats powerful. As he’s  trying to recover from what happened to him when he was young but Ewan approaches the character in such a emotional state that not always has to be shown with moments of heavy emotion which is provided but he can be very quiet in his performance but be saying so much as well as he has this total fear he lives out of and is afraid of his past and just wants to try to adjust to society and Ewan has so much depth to his performance as you can see the pain and suffering he has gone through just by looking into his eyes Ewan can say so much by saying so little. He goes head deep and really does justice to this iconic character by peeling back layers of him that have gripped him over the years of his pain and hurt and Ewan in the first half of this film brings an emotional rawness to the character which was brilliant as he soaks up every frame of this film and delivers his dialogue with such passion and emotion. He has once again given another terrific performance as well as showing a emotionally battered Danny Torrence brought to life so well by Ewan. 

Mike Flanagan : Mike has done an amazing job with bringing a sequel to one of the most iconic horror films ever made! Flanagan is a great filmmaker who’s work I am familiar with as he did Hush a few years back that blew me away and I would say he is a very good director so when I heard he was taking on the task of helming the sequel to The Shining I knew that the film was in good hands and he would approach the story and the source material as respectfully as possible as he knew how to do this film by pleasing the fans of the first film but also not have to lean on the first film in order to tell the story which I thought he did so well. Since this film takes place many years after the events of the first film and we are now seeing Danny as an adult their are so many possibilities that you have and so many things you can do to explore the character that hasn’t been done up to this point. Since the film is based on the book of the same name he did it justice but also crafted the story with his style on it that really made the frame pop. As he wasn’t interested in just jump scares or blood and gore he approaches the story and tells it from the point of view of someone who has been battered emotionally in their past and how they find a way to move on and heal those wounds and to me this film had me more interested in the non scary moments which is funny considering this is a horror film which he did make but at the same time he makes it more clear that he wants to focus on the emotional state of Danny and his recovery which to me is very powerful and so well presented in the film as he has the emotional weight for Danny but he also brings the spine chilling scares that are so well set up and done in a way that dose not feel like i could predicate what scares were coming it had this great sense of unpredictability which was great as it kept me on the edge of my seat. He packs a great deal of heart here that actually did effect me to the point that I almost got teary eyed as he explores so many themes throughout this film while giving the sequel to The Shining that was masterfully done so well by Mike as he also gets fantastic performances from his cast and a incredible compelling story that concludes the Danny Torrence story so beautifully he has once again brought his amazing style to  this film which he knocks out of the park.