''Doctor Sleep'' is a 2019 American
supernatural horror film
Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of supernatural film and horror film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...
written, directed, and edited by
Mike Flanagan. It is a film adaptation of the
2013 novel by
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
and serves as a sequel to ''
The Shining'' (1980). The film stars
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...
as
Dan Torrance, a man with psychic abilities and a drinking problem, who struggles with childhood trauma caused by the horrors at the Overlook Hotel.
Rebecca Ferguson
Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born 19 October 1983) is a Swedish actress. Ferguson began her television acting career in 1999 with the Swedish soap opera ''Nya tider'' and made her motion picture acting debut in 2004 with the Swedish slash ...
,
Kyliegh Curran, and
Cliff Curtis
Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born July 27, 1968) is a New Zealand actor and film producer. After working in theatre, he made his film debut in Jane Campion's Academy Awards, Oscar-winning film ''The Piano'' (1993), followed by a breakout role ...
have supporting roles as new characters: Abra Stone and Billy Freeman team up with Dan to take down
Rose the Hat and her gang of followers.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...
began developing a film adaptation shortly after ''Doctor Sleep'' was published in 2013. Writer-producer
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director.
Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client (1994 film), The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel ''Batman & Robin (film), Batman ...
wrote a script, but the studio did not secure a budget for the film until the box office success of its 2017 horror film ''
It'', also based on a novel by King. Flanagan was hired to rewrite Goldsman's script and direct the ''Doctor Sleep'' film. Flanagan said he wanted to reconcile the differences between
''The Shining'' novel and film. Filming began in September 2018 in Georgia, including
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
and the surrounding area, and concluded that December.
''Doctor Sleep'' held its world premiere at the
Regency Village Theater
The Regency Village Theatre (formerly the Fox Theatre, Westwood Village or the Fox Village Theatre, commonly called the Westwood Village Theatre) is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California in the heart of the Mediterra ...
in Los Angeles on October 21, 2019, and was theatrically released worldwide on October 31, 2019, and in the United States on November 8. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Flanagan's direction and screenplay, and the performances of the cast (especially McGregor, Ferguson, and Curran) but criticized its runtime. Grossing $72.4 million worldwide, its performance at the box office was considered a
disappointment
Disappointment is the feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations or hopes to manifest. Similar to regret, it differs in that a person who feels regret focuses primarily on the personal choices that contributed to a ...
compared to the other King adaptations released in 2019: ''
It Chapter Two
''It Chapter Two'' is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. It is the sequel to '' It'' (2017) and the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel '' It'' by Stephen Ki ...
'' and ''
Pet Sematary
''Pet Sematary'' is a 1983 horror novel by American writer Stephen King. The novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984, and adapted into two films: one in 1989 and another in 2019.
Background
In 1979, King was wr ...
''.
Plot
After his family's
1980 ordeal at the Overlook Hotel, the traumatized
Dan Torrance is followed by its ghostly inhabitants seeking his "shining". The ghost of
Dick Hallorann
Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel '' The Shining''. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is ...
teaches him how to capture the ghosts in psychic "lockboxes". By 2011, Dan has become an alcoholic to suppress his abilities. After moving to
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, Dan recovers through
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
. Working as a
hospice
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...
orderly, Dan uses his shining to comfort dying patients, earning the nickname "Doctor Sleep". A young girl named Abra Stone, whose shining is even greater than Dan's,
telepathically
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
reaches out to him, and the two form a psychic friendship.
A separate plotline follows the True Knot, an old cult of
psychic vampires led by Rose the Hat. They feed on "steam", a psychic essence released by torturing and killing people who possess the shining. By 2019, as the number of potential prey dwindles, the group has begun starving. Their latest kill's traumatic death awakens Abra, who alerts Dan. Rose, who senses Abra's clairvoyance, and later becomes connected to her while shopping, becomes intrigued. Rose infiltrates Abra's dream but is trapped by Abra, who proceeds to rummage through Rose's memory to learn about the cult. Convinced that Abra's immense powers will supply them with steam for years to come, Rose sends the True Knot members after her.
Abra divines the crime scene's location and meets Dan in New Hampshire to give him the information and implore him to help her stop the True Knot. Dan recruits his friend Billy and Abra's father, Dave, to help. They set up an ambush and kill most of the cult, but Billy and Dave are killed and Abra is captured by Rose's partner, Crow Daddy. Dan possesses Abra and causes Crow Daddy's car to crash, killing him.
Knowing Rose is coming for them, Dan brings Abra to the now-abandoned Overlook, which is equally dangerous for Rose. Dan sets the hotel's
boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...
to overload, while briefly confronting an apparition of his father and rejecting an offer to drink.
Rose arrives and overpowers Dan, but he releases the Overlook's occupants from his lockboxes. Drawn to Rose's power, the ghosts devour her before possessing Dan in a bid to make him kill Abra so they can feed on her steam. He goes to the boiler room and regains control before the hotel can make him deactivate it. As fire erupts, he sees a vision of himself as a child being comforted by his mother Wendy. Abra escapes as the Overlook burns down.
Sometime later, Abra speaks to Dan's spirit, who comforts her, telling her to "shine on". Abra tells her mother that Dan and her deceased father are okay. She then confronts an Overlook ghost and imprisons it in her psychic lockbox.
Cast

*
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...
as
Dan Torrance, an alcoholic man with psychic powers known as "the shining". The character first appeared as his young self in the film ''
The Shining'', where he was portrayed by
Danny Lloyd
Daniel Edward Sidney Lloyd (born October 13, 1972) is an American former child actor best known for playing Danny Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film '' The Shining''. After appearing in the 1982 television film '' Will: G. Gordon L ...
.
**Roger Dale Floyd plays a young Danny Torrance.
*
Rebecca Ferguson
Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born 19 October 1983) is a Swedish actress. Ferguson began her television acting career in 1999 with the Swedish soap opera ''Nya tider'' and made her motion picture acting debut in 2004 with the Swedish slash ...
as
Rose the Hat, or "Rosie", the leader of the True Knot, a cult that feeds on people with psychic powers. Ferguson said she had difficulty filming the scene where the True Knot attacks a young child.
*
Kyliegh Curran as Abra Stone, or "Abba-do", a girl with "the shining".
**Dakota Hickman plays a young Abra Stone.
*
Carl Lumbly
Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951) is an American actor. He is best known for '' M.A.N.T.I.S.'' (1994–1997) and has also had television roles on '' Cagney & Lacey'' (1982–1988) and '' Alias'' (2001–2006).
He has also had roles in v ...
as
Dick Hallorann
Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel '' The Shining''. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is ...
, the late head chef of the Overlook Hotel who has "the shining". Dick was portrayed by
Scatman Crothers
Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986) was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show ''Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick's '' The ...
in ''The Shining''.
*
Zahn McClarnon
Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is a Native American actor. Since 2022, he has played the lead role of Joe Leaphorn in the AMC series ''Dark Winds'', of which he is also an executive producer.
He first came to prominence with key supporting performanc ...
as Crow Daddy, Rose the Hat's lover and right-hand man in the True Knot.
*
Emily Alyn Lind
Emily Alyn Lind (born ) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress, when she was known for her recurring role as young Amanda Clarke on the ABC series ''Revenge'', and for her role as Ariel on the CBS medical drama '' Cod ...
as Snakebite Andi, a young member of the True Knot who is able to psychically control people.
*
Bruce Greenwood
Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He has starred in five films by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan and has been nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards, once for Best Actor for '' Elephant Song'' ...
as Dr. John Dalton, leader of Dan's AA group and his boss at the hospice.
*
Jocelin Donahue as Lucy Stone, Abra's mother.
*
Cliff Curtis
Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born July 27, 1968) is a New Zealand actor and film producer. After working in theatre, he made his film debut in Jane Campion's Academy Awards, Oscar-winning film ''The Piano'' (1993), followed by a breakout role ...
as Billy Freeman, Dan's friend, coworker, and AA sponsor
* Robert Longstreet as Barry the Chunk, a member of the True Knot.
*
Carel Struycken
Carel Struycken (; born 30 July 1948) is a Dutch actor. He is known for playing the Giant/Fireman in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017), the occasional guest role of Mr. Homn in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987– ...
as Grandpa Flick, an aging member of the True Knot.
*
Alex Essoe as
Wendy Torrance
Winnifred "Wendy" Torrance is a fictional character and protagonist of the 1977 horror novel '' The Shining'' by the American writer Stephen King. She also appears in the prologue of '' Doctor Sleep'', a 2013 sequel to ''The Shining''.
Characte ...
, Dan's mother. Wendy was portrayed by
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Alexis Duvall (July 7, 1949 – July 11, 2024) was an American actress and producer. She is known for her distinctive screen presence, her portrayals of eccentric characters, and her later productions in children's programming. Her acco ...
in ''The Shining''.
*
Zackary Momoh as Dave Stone, Abra's father.
*
Jacob Tremblay
Jacob Tremblay ( ; born October 5, 2006) is a Canadian actor. He became known for his role as a child born in captivity in ''Room'' (2015), for which he won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer and became the youngest nomine ...
as Bradley Trevor, a victim of the True Knot, known to Abra as the "baseball boy".
*
Henry Thomas
Henry Jackson Thomas (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had the lead role of Elliott Taylor in the film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and rece ...
as The Bartender, an apparition who calls himself Lloyd but resembles Dan's late father,
Jack Torrance
John Daniel Edward "Jack" Torrance is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Stephen King's horror novel '' The Shining'' (1977). He was portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the novel's 1980 film adaptation, by Steven Weber in the 1997 m ...
;
Thomas thus also portrays Torrance briefly in
flashback scenes. In ''The Shining'', Torrance was portrayed by
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
and Lloyd was portrayed by
Joe Turkel
Joseph Turkel (July 15, 1927 – June 27, 2022) was an American character actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. He is probably best-known for his roles in Stanley Kubrick's films '' T ...
. In the
director's cut, Thomas additionally portrays the Hotel Caretaker with Torrance's likeness, who in the original film was portrayed by
Philip Stone.
Additionally, Catherine Parker appears as Silent Sarey, Met Clark as Short Eddie, Selena Anduze as Apron Annie, and James Flanagan as Diesel Doug, all members of the True Knot cult.
Violet McGraw
Violet Elizabeth McGraw (born April 22, 2011) is an American child actress. Her acting debut was a recurring role in the 2016 television series ''Love (TV series), Love'' as Nina, and her first feature film was 2018's ''Ready Player One (film), R ...
portrays Violet, a child who is murdered at the start of the film by the True Knot cult and later fed to Snakebite Andi as part of her induction into the group, while
Bethany Anne Lind portrays Violet's mother. Sadie and KK Heim portray the Grady sisters, with Kaitlyn McCormick and Molly Jackson providing their voices; the characters were originally played by twins Lisa and Louise Burns in ''The Shining''. Sallye Hooks portrays Mrs. Massey, Michael Monks portrays Delbert Grady, and Hugh Maguire portrays Horace Derwent, respectively; played by Lia Beldam and Billie Gibson,
Philip Stone, and Norman Gay in ''The Shining''.
Themes
Author
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
said he wrote ''
Doctor Sleep'' because he wondered what
Danny Torrance
Daniel Anthony "Danny" Torrance, also known as Doctor Sleep, is a fictional character who first appears in the 1977 novel '' The Shining'' by Stephen King as a child with psychic powers called "the shining". His parents are father Jack Torrance a ...
would be like as an adult. The film adaptation's director-writer-editor
Mike Flanagan stated, "Danny is so traumatized by what he's been through, he has no idea how to deal with this," and McGregor added, "Dan Torrance's philosophy early on in the story is not to use the shining. He's drunk to suppress the horrible visitations, the spirits that are from the Overlook Hotel."
Flanagan described King's ''
The Shining'' as "very much about addiction, which is doom. It's about annihilation and the destruction of a family," while ''Doctor Sleep'' was about "recovery," stating, "In the way that addiction feels like doom and annihilation, recovery is rebirth, and recovery is salvation, in a way." On themes, Flanagan has stated that "
'Doctor Sleep''incorporates a lot of nostalgia from the first film... It also brings in themes that weren't in the first book, and focuses a lot more on the aspects of addiction and recovery."
The Daily Bruin noted that "many elements in the film – particularly during the climax when Rose, Dan and Abra converge in a "shine" to the death – reference recognizable characters and scenes from ''The Shining''."
Connections to ''The Shining'' novel and film
King's ''The Shining'' was a
1980 film adaptation produced, co-written, and directed by
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
. King was critical of Kubrick's film to the point of writing and executive-producing a new adaptation with
the 1997 television miniseries.
While the ''Doctor Sleep'' film is intended to be a direct adaptation of the 2013 sequel novel, Flanagan said the adaptation still "acknowledge
Kubrick's ''The Shining'' in some way". Flanagan said, "It is an adaptation of the novel ''Doctor Sleep'', which is Stephen King's sequel to his novel, ''The Shining''. But this also exists very much in the same cinematic universe that Kubrick established in his adaptation of ''The Shining''."
He explained working with all the sources, "Reconciling those three, at times very different, sources has been kind of the most challenging and thrilling part of this creatively for us." He first read the novel, and then had a conversation with King to work out adapting all the sources. As part of the process, Flanagan recreated scenes from ''The Shining'' to use in flashbacks.
As did Kubrick with ''The Shining'', Flanagan avoided the horror
film trope of
jump scare
A jump scare (also written jump-scare and jumpscare) is a scaring technique used in media, particularly in horror fiction such as horror films and horror games, intended to scare the viewer by surprising them with a creepy face or object, usually ...
s.
On why he wanted to present the film as a continuation of Kubrick's film, Flanagan expressed, "''The Shining'' is so ubiquitous and has burned itself into the collective imagination of people who love cinema in a way that so few movies have. There's no other language to tell that story in. If you say 'Overlook Hotel,' I see something. It lives right up in my brain because of Stanley Kubrick. You can't pretend that isn't the case".
King is famously known to dislike Kubrick's adaptation of ''The Shining,'' particularly due to omitting several aspects of the novel that were personal to him, such as themes related to alcoholism and its role in the disintegration of family, which Flanagan read as "an examination of his fear of what his alcoholism could do to his family... and he wrote himself hope and sacrifice at the end. None of that is present in the Kubrick film... that was a bridge too far of a personal level for him." The opening of the ''Doctor Sleep'' novel was seen as King undoing and avoiding the changes Kubrick made to the ''Shining'' film.
During early talks, King's two stipulations for the ''Doctor Sleep'' adaptation was that the Overlook would not be present, and that the novel's ending would be retained.
King initially rejected Flanagan's pitch of bringing back the Overlook as seen in Kubrick's film, but changed his mind after Flanagan pitched a scene within the hotel towards the end of the film that served as his reason to bring back the Overlook. Upon reading the script, King was so satisfied with the result that he said, "Everything that I ever disliked about the Kubrick version of ''The Shining'' is redeemed for me here."
Flanagan later revealed that there were two scenes that convinced King to accept his idea. The first was the scene involving Dan talking with The Bartender in the form of Jack, which was not adapted from either novel and was fully written by Flanagan before finishing his first draft. The second was the ending which directly adapts the final act of ''The Shining'' novel that was heavily omitted from Kubrick's film, with Dan and Abra taking the place of the novel's Jack and Danny, as well as the Overlook burning down due to the overloaded boiler. Thus, this film can be seen as a bridge for King's ''Doctor Sleep'' and ''The Shining'', incorporating events from both novels.
Flanagan said that in his film, "Almost everything Dan does
sJack's story from
he original novel and that he "really wanted to try to bring back the ending from ''The Shining'' novel and give it to Dan."
By including these elements into the ''Doctor Sleep'' film, Flanagan explained, "I saw it as this gift, to me as a fan, and from me to him as well — that yes, we're going to bring back this Kubrickian Overlook world, and I wanted to celebrate that film. But what if, in doing so, at the same time, you get elements of that ending of that novel, ''The Shining'', that Kubrick jettisoned? Then you start to get the ending you never did, and that King was denied."
Production
Development
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...
began developing a film adaptation of ''Doctor Sleep'' as early as 2014. In 2016, filmmaker
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director.
Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client (1994 film), The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel ''Batman & Robin (film), Batman ...
announced that he would write and produce the film for Warner Bros. For several years, Warner Bros. could not secure a budget for ''Doctor Sleep'', or for a different project, a prequel to ''The Shining'' called ''Overlook Hotel''.
In late 2017, Warner Bros. released ''
It'', a film adaptation of King's
1986 novel of the same name, and its box office success led the studio to fast track production of ''Doctor Sleep''. In January 2018, Warner Bros. hired
Mike Flanagan to rewrite Goldsman's script and direct the film, with Goldsman receiving executive producer credit. On why he was interested in directing ''Doctor Sleep'', Flanagan stated, "It touches on themes that are the most attractive to me, which are childhood trauma leading into adulthood, addiction, the breakdown of a family, and the after effects, decades later."
Casting
From June to November 2018, the cast was assembled.
Owing to the passage of time, many reappearing characters from ''The Shining'' had to be recast. Young Danny, his mother Wendy,
Dick Hallorann
Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel '' The Shining''. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is ...
, and the bartender who resembles Jack Torrance all had to be recast. The denizens of the hotel—the Grady sisters, Mrs. Massey (Old Woman in Bath), Delbert Grady, and Horace Derwent—also had to be recast.
Danny Lloyd
Daniel Edward Sidney Lloyd (born October 13, 1972) is an American former child actor best known for playing Danny Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film '' The Shining''. After appearing in the 1982 television film '' Will: G. Gordon L ...
, who played young Danny Torrance in ''The Shining'' makes a
cameo appearance
A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
in this film as an adult spectator at Bradley Trevor's baseball game. Lloyd had been retired from acting for roughly 38 years and was direct messaged on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
by Flanagan to appear in the film. Producer Trevor Macy said of Lloyd's involvement, "
loydwas excited to do
he cameo He hadn't acted since
he original
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
He's a schoolteacher, and a very successful one at that, like making the world better. He came back for a day, and we were thrilled to have him." When pressed as to why the filmmakers did not extend the same offer to
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
, Macy responded, "With Jack, I knew that they approached him for ''
Ready Player One'', and that he seems to be very serious about being retired. I had known that he was supportive
f the sequelbut retired."
Regarding the recast characters, Flanagan explained, "We explored everything, and there were only really two options as I saw it: It was either going to be something that was performed, or something that was digital. And even if we had Nicholson come back, based on the rules of the hotel and how the ghosts appear with respect to their age, he'd be performing the part through a digital avatar." Flanagan said that
de-aging and digital actors, while improving rapidly, were still inadequate. "The idea of having a digital Danny Torrance riding a trike five minutes into the movie, that just seemed like we were making a video game at that point. It felt disrespectful." Noting that any solution would be controversial, the director decided that the best approach "was not to do impressions; it was to find actors who would remind us of those iconic performances, without ever tipping into parody... I just want to be able to tilt people's memories toward those original actors, but then let the characters be their own. I want to cast someone to play Dick Hallorann; I don't want to cast someone to play Scatman Crothers". The idea of casting a Nicholson impersonator as Jack was also considered, as was casting a big-name actor associated with or reminiscent of Nicholson, such as
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
or
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor. He made his film debut with a leading role in '' The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakout role as Jason "J.D." Dean, a sociopath ...
. Nicholson was also invited to make a cameo appearance as another character, but declined.
Filming
Filming began in September 2018 in the U.S. state of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
; locations included
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
,
St. Marys, and
St. Simons. In the area of Atlanta, specific locations included
Covington,
Canton,
Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome Inselberg, monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Ge ...
,
Midtown,
Porterdale, and
Fayetteville. Production concluded in December 2018. By January 2019, Flanagan was editing the film.
Music
The film score was composed by
the Newton Brothers
John Andrew Grush and Taylor Newton Stewart, known collectively as the Newton Brothers, are American film score composers, record producers, and multi-instrumentalists. Their works include scores for several films with director Mike Flanagan, ha ...
(Andy Grush and Taylor Stewart), who also composed scores for Flanagan's previous works.
WaterTower Music has released the film score. The score is heavily inspired by the music of ''The Shining'' and includes a reworked rendition of the main theme, "
Dies Irae".
Vintage music by Al Bowlly, Ray Noble and Henry Hall is also included in the film, reprising the key part it played in "The Shining". "Home" by Henry Hall & The Gleneagles Hotel Band is available on one release. "And The Bands Played On". Decca DDV 5001/2. The song was never issued before 1977 and was remastered by Keith Gooden & Geoff Milne at Decca in England.
Release
''Doctor Sleep'' had its world premiere at the
Regency Village Theater
The Regency Village Theatre (formerly the Fox Theatre, Westwood Village or the Fox Village Theatre, commonly called the Westwood Village Theatre) is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California in the heart of the Mediterra ...
in
Westwood, Los Angeles
Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...
on October 21, 2019.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...
released the film theatrically in the United States and Canada on , 2019.
They opened the film globally earlier, , 2019, coinciding with
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
.
The film was initially scheduled to be released on January 24, 2020. ''
Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' said the rescheduling reflected Warner Bros. giving "a major vote of confidence" in the film.
A
director's cut along with the theatrical cut of ''Doctor Sleep'' was released on
Digital HD on January 21, 2020, and was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
,
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and
4K on February 4. The director's cut is 28 minutes longer.
Reception
Box office
''Doctor Sleep'' grossed $31.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $40.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $72.4 million.
[
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside '']Last Christmas
"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!. Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with " Everything She Wants" in several Eur ...
'', '' Midway'', and '' Playing with Fire'', and was initially projected to gross $25–30 million from 3,855 theaters in its opening weekend. ''BoxOffice
''Boxoffice Pro'' is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by BoxOffice Media LP.
History
It started in 1920 as ''The Reel Journal'', taking the name ''Boxoffice'' in 1931 and still publishes today, with a ...
'' wrote, "Early social and trailer trends are indicative of a potential box office hit should reviews and audience reception prove favorable," but added, "''Doctor Sleep''s primary barrier to breakout status could be how reliant it is on younger audience familiarity with the source Stephen King novels and/or ''The Shining''." The film made $5.2 million on its first day, including a combined $1.5 million from advanced preview screenings on October 30 and Thursday night previews on November 7, lowering weekend projections to $12 million. It ended up debuting to $14.1 million, getting upset by ''Midway'' for the top spot. ''Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' speculated that despite it being "well-reviewed and well-received" by critics and audiences, the underperformance was due to the 2-hour runtime, as well as the perception the film was meant for older audiences (67% of the opening weekend attendance was over the age of 24).
Following its debut, it was projected the film would lose Warner Bros. around $20 million. In its second weekend the film made $6.0 million, dropping to sixth. ''Business Insider
''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
'' speculated that, according to box-office experts, Warner Bros. overestimated ''The Shining''s influence among younger audiences, who don't care much about Kubrick's film, as well as the mistake Warner Bros. made to release the film worldwide in November after Halloween.
Critical response
On review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "''Doctor Sleep'' forsakes the elemental terror of its predecessor for a more contemplative sequel that balances poignant themes against spine-tingling chills." Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
assigned the film a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed at PostTrak
PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios.
History
The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a fil ...
gave it an average four out of five, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it to a friend.
Brian Tallerico of ''RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...
'' gave the film three out of four, stating, "Flanagan was tasked with making a sequel to a film that stays loyal to a book that ignores the changes made in the first movie. That ain't easy... And while one can sometimes feel Flanagan struggling to satisfy both King and Kubrick fans when he really should be trusting his own vision, he's talented enough to pull off this difficult blend of legacies." Simran Hans of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' gave the film four out of five, noting "adapting Stephen King is one thing, writing a spiritual sequel to a Stanley Kubrick movie quite another. Director Mike Flanagan takes on King's 2013 follow-up novel to ''The Shining'', but adjusts some details to ensure continuity with Kubrick's cult 1980 adaptation of the original book... The new material is fresher and considerably more fun."
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's critic Nicholas Barber gave the film four out of five and stated, "Credible in its characterisation, rich in mythological detail, and touchingly sincere in its treatment of alcoholism and trauma, the film is impressive in all sorts of ways. But its greatest achievement is that it makes ''The Shining'' seem like a prequel—a tantalising glimpse of a richer and more substantial narrative." Chris Hewitt of ''Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' gave the film three out of five and noted, "Working off source material that is very different from its predecessor, anyone expecting a straightforward ''Shining'' sequel will be disappointed. This isn't a gruelling exercise in pure horror. It's odder and more contemplative, but worth checking in." Kyle Smith of ''National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' wrote "Though Kubrick's adaptation and ''The Shawshank Redemption
''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American Prison film, prison Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. The film t ...
'' are the only films made from King's stories that achieved greatness, nearly everything he writes contains at least one brilliantly twisted element, and ''Doctor Sleep'' has lots of them. It's a shame that more top-tier directors haven't chosen to dig around in the capacious mines of King's imagination."
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born June 27, 1943) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film i ...
of ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' gave the film three out of five stars, saying: "''Doctor Sleep'' relies way too much on borrowed inspiration and eventually runs out of—pardon the word—steam. But this flawed hybrid of King and Kubrick still has the stuff to keep you up nights." Angelica Jade Bastién of ''Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
'' wrote "The film aims in its closing moments to be bittersweet yet hopeful. Instead, it has an unintended, even dour messaging about the cost of escaping your past and whether that's even possible in life. ''Doctor Sleep'' could probably never fully stand on its own, and perhaps it's not meant to. It's a horror film with messy pleasures if you're able to meet it on its own level." Todd McCarthy of ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' stated, "It doesn't have Jack Nicholson, Stanley Kubrick or even much of the Overlook Hotel, but Rebecca Ferguson and other good actors provide some shine of their own in ''Doctor Sleep'', a drawn-out and seldom pulse-quickening follow-up to ''The Shining'' that still has enough going on to forestall any audience slumber."
Tim Grierson of ''Screen Daily
''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''.
The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...
'' commented, "For a horror director, Flanagan is particularly adept with actors, concerned more about character arcs than cheap frights. That's why ''Doctor Sleep''s uninspired plotting feels even more disappointing. Flanagan gives us such a sense of these people—their demons, their fears, their resilience—that it's a shame that the twists and turns aren't as compelling. Not everyone will make it out alive from the Overlook, but Flanagan brings enough smarts and soul to the flawed, fascinating ''Doctor Sleep'' that he manages to escape ''The Shining''s shadow mostly unscathed." Michael O'Sullivan of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' gave the film two stars out of four and wrote "Part homage to Kubrick's moody atmospherics, and part hyper-literal superhero story, ''Doctor Sleep'' is stylish, engrossing, at times frustratingly illogical and, ultimately less than profoundly unsettling... ''Doctor Sleep'' will by no means make you drowsy, but it won't keep anyone up at night either." Austin Collins of '' Vanity Fair'' added "''Doctor Sleep'' is a horror movie, but what's immediately striking is its sudden breadth, it's humble resistance to the usual perils and thrills of blockbuster. It's refreshing. This is a story that feels larger than it is, in part because this story takes the shine and does something with it, reveals it for the tenuous, impermanent, vulnerable force that it is." Michael Roffman of ''Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television.
History
''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'' mentioned "''Doctor Sleep'' shouldn't work. Even now, the idea of making a big-budget sequel to arguably the greatest horror film of all time reads like a disaster on paper. Yet, to our surprise, Flanagan's execution warrants its existence."
Tom Philip of '' GQ'' wrote, "while Flanagan delivers an ending that sort of respects King's book and rhymes with ''The Shining''s filmed conclusion, it all feels quite forced. At its heart, this is a film about a son rejecting his destiny to become his ghoulish father and forge his own path. It's a shame ''Doctor Sleep'' doesn't have the guts to do the same."
David Sims of ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 185 ...
'' said, "Flanagan clearly understands how Kubrick's adaptation eclipsed King's attachment to the original story and became entrenched in the broader culture. But this movie is still just a very good facsimile. ''Doctor Sleep'' is wonderfully reverent when it comes to Kubrick's film, but that means it can't escape ''The Shining''s shadow, no matter how much King might have wanted it to." Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a C+ grade, commenting, "... ''Doctor Sleep'' shows considerable effort to ingratiate itself to discerning cinephiles, from the moody Newton Brothers score to cinematographer Michael Fimognari's dark blue nighttime palette; as a whole, the movie conjures an eerie and wondrous atmosphere that blends abject terror with a somber, mournful quality unique to Flanagan's oeuvre. But his pandering to dueling source material results in a jagged puzzle beneath both of their standards". Alison Foreman of Mashable
Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005.
History
Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...
stated, "''Doctor Sleep'' could have tried to be ''The Shining''s sequel, an intimidated son yearning to be like his father. Instead, it's entirely new... ''Doctor Sleep'' isn't ''The Shining'', but it does shine." Justin Chang of ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' wrote, "You can't blame Flanagan for fetishizing the visual iconography of Kubrick's movie, for plunging back into his funhouse of horrors like the proverbial kid in a candy store. But the effect can't help but fundamentally alter the tone and intent of ''Doctor Sleep'', briefly transforming a richly disturbing fantasy into an extravagant act of fan service
, fanservice or Example: A frame (numbered "25") from the English opening sequence of '' New Cutie Honey'', in which character Danbei Hayami fires a Rocket Punch as main character Honey Kisaragi lies topless and prone in the background, i ...
. It taps into the minutiae of Kubrick's masterwork without fully teasing out its mystery."
Accolades
Possible sequel
Prior to the film's release, Warner Bros. had enough confidence in the film that they hired Flanagan to script a prequel with the working title ''Hallorann'', focusing on the character of Dick Hallorann
Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel '' The Shining''. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is ...
. Following the disappointing box-office performance of ''Doctor Sleep'', the project was scrapped.
Flanagan also confirmed that he was interested in directing a sequel focused on Abra Stone, and that he had asked King, who was open to the idea.
See also
* Psychic vampire
* List of adaptations of works by Stephen King
Stephen King is an American author widely known for his works of contemporary horror, thriller, science fiction, and fantasy. In addition to many novels, King has written approximately 200 short stories. His works have been widely adapted to fil ...
* List of vampire films
This is a list of vampire films.
Dracula films
Carmilla films
Elizabeth Bathory films
Other vampire films
See also
* Vampire films
* List of vampire television series
*Vampire literature
* List of fictional vampires
*'' Bloodsu ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2010s American films
2010s English-language films
2010s ghost films
2010s supernatural horror films
2019 films
2019 horror films
American ghost films
American road movies
American sequel films
American supernatural horror films
American vampire films
English-language horror films
Films about alcoholism
Films about astral projection
Films about child death
Films about cults
Films about psychic powers
Films about telepathy
Films based on American horror novels
Films based on works by Stephen King
Films directed by Mike Flanagan
Films scored by the Newton Brothers
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Films set in Colorado
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Films set in hotels
Films set in Iowa
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Films shot in Atlanta
Films with screenplays by Mike Flanagan
Intrepid Pictures films
Saturn Award–winning films
The Shining (franchise)
Vertigo Entertainment films
Warner Bros. films