Doctor Sleep hard to take a shining to
When this sequel to one of the finest, most frightening psychological thrillers of all time pays homage to (or just as often, blatantly copies from) The Shining, Doctor Sleepdoes cast a faintly affecting spell. The rest, however, emits a faintly worrying smell.
Leigh Paatsch
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You have to give this high-concept horror movie considerable marks for bravery.
Presenting yourself as a sequel to one of the finest, most frightening psychological thrillers of all time in the form of 1980s The Shining takes some considerable fortitude.
However, a lot of those marks must be deducted once you endure the dull, overblown and rather confusing completion of this increasingly pointless exercise (based on a 2013 novel penned by The Shining’s original author, Stephen King).
Ewan McGregor stars as Danny, once-upon-a-time an innocent little boy back in the day of The Shining, but now a down-and-out boozehound.
The supernatural ability that saved him as a child has cursed him as an adult, but may yet redeem him if he can join a paranormal resistance effort to stop a new wave of evil poised to break very soon.
Danny is not the brightest light bulb in the box, and McGregor struggles throughout Doctor Sleep to illuminate us about what is going on inside the addled head of this near-derelict dude.
Meanwhile, in another part of the movie, Rebecca Ferguson dominates proceedings to fair effect as the leader of a gang of semi-immortal no-goodsters who prey upon others to stay alive.
When paying homage to (or just as often, blatantly copying from) The Shining, Doctor Sleep does cast a faintly affecting spell.
The rest, however, emits a faintly worrying smell.
DOCTOR SLEEP (MA15+)
Director: Mike Flanagan (Gerald’s Game)
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Cliff Curtis.
Rating: **
Hard to take a shining to