Doctor Sleep - Spoiler Thread

[Kalmakov]

Again, open spoilers from here on out.

So, the return to the Overlook is probably the most spoilery part of the movie and probably what a lot of people are looking for. If I want to give this movie credit for one, it's how painstakingly detailed the recreation of the Overlook was. The man who played Jack Torrance, Henry Thomas, absolutely killed it for the brief period of screentime he got. It was almost uncanny how well he was able to recreate the mannerisms of Nicholson.

Also, probably the other major scene people will be talking about; the abduction of baseball boy. That entire scene was so unnerving and difficult to watch. I thought for sure there would've been some Deus Ex Machina to save him, but no, he got torn open and eaten alive.

I'm not the biggest King aficionado so if there were any references to his other works (I already know they're all in the same universe) then they we're lost on me.

 

[Laserdisk]

Anyone else feel the woodland shoot out was spliced in from a 90s action movie?

 

[carlsojo]

Uh the guy they got to play Jack Torrance was awful. Didn't look or sound anything like him.

Anyone else feel the woodland shoot out was spliced in from a 90s action movie?

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That part was so shit.

They spent the better part of two hours building up how powerful and terrifying this group of vampires is and then they just get shot in the woods like a bunch of chumps.

 

[Kalmakov]

That part was so shit.

They spent the better part of two hours building up how powerful and terrifying this group of vampires is and then they just get shot in the woods like a bunch of chumps.

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It was sadly very predictable too. All of the Knot who didn't have speaking roles were off course the first to die

 

[Kalmakov]

Quick question; Does anyone know why, during the segment where Rose first met Abra, Abra was wearing some blue wig?

 

[Sanjuro]

This movie made no sense to me. Maybe people who liked the books are in, but as a sequel to The Shining it was a mess.

 

[Dusktildawn48]

Uh the guy they got to play Jack Torrance was awful. Didn't look or sound anything like him.

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I have to agree.

And I rather disappointed in how much they changed. Danny doesn't die in the book. And Abras parents are way bigger characters along with the doctor.

And they also left out the twist of Danny literally being Abras uncle.

 

[carlsojo]

One scene I liked in particular was the doctor interviewing Danny. It was a very nice throwback to Jack being interviewed for his position in the Overlook. Same setup of the room, similar colors.

 

[Kalmakov]

This movie made no sense to me. Maybe people who liked the books are in, but as a sequel to The Shining it was a mess.

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To me personally (the Shining is my favorite movie) I thought it was just...meh. I liked it more when it was trying to be its own movie before the visit to the Hotel and it just became a nostalgia trip. The movie felt like it had a lot of good scenes but those scenes put together don't gell well as a movie.

 

[Sanjuro]

Jack made no sense. I still don't believe he was in the film, because there is no clear indicator that is him.

 

[lurksalot]

King finally got The Shining ending he always wanted and all it took was ruining the ending of the film version of Doctor Sleep.

Danny getting a happy ending and forming a new foster family was so unexpected for me when I read the book, I thought for sure it was going to go the route of sacrificing himself to save Abra from the True Knot.

Everything up to Colorado was just great, though.

 

[Dusktildawn48]

Jack made no sense. I still don't believe he was in the film, because there is no clear indicator that is him.

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Well he was in the book, although I remember him actually kinda redeeming himself in it.

 

[Sanjuro]

To me personally (the Shining is my favorite movie) I thought it was just...meh. I liked it more when it was trying to be its own movie before the visit to the Hotel and it just became a nostalgia trip. The movie felt like it had a lot of good scenes but those scenes put together don't gell well as a movie.

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It wasn't a bad film. It just felt like a slog where it was impossible to he invested in anyone.

There were a few things I liked.

 

[Gravidee]

Quick question; Does anyone know why, during the segment where Rose first met Abra, Abra was wearing some blue wig?

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It was to disguise her true identity from Rose. But there is an additional layer to this. You might notice that the walls in Abra's room are adorned with characters from RWBY. One character in particular that she seems fond of is one of the series' antagonists Emerald who has the ability to decieve others with illusions that she creates. The camera even lingers on a figurine of this character on her nightstand at one point.

This same art is also seen as a poster in her room during the movie.

 

[lurksalot]

Well he was in the book, although I remember him actually kinda redeeming himself in it.

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Correct. He helps Danny briefly and provides the closure that Danny needed.

The whole subplot of Danny beating his addiction and escaping the shadow of his father was completely mishandled in the movie.

 

[carlsojo]

Well he was in the book, although I remember him actually kinda redeeming himself in it.

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This really killed the movie for me. Jack redeeming himself in Doctor Sleep novel lets Danny have a resolution to the relationship he had with his father.

There's no resolution between Jack and Danny in the DS movie and it drives me crazy. Danny's trauma from his father/the Overlook is the whole thing driving his character for the film.. and it's just... forgotten at the end.

 

[Sanjuro]

Well he was in the book, although I remember him actually kinda redeeming himself in it.

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The guy in the movie looked and sounded nothing like him though.

 

[Laserdisk]

Uh the guy they got to play Jack Torrance was awful. Didn't look or sound anything like him.



That part was so shit.

They spent the better part of two hours building up how powerful and terrifying this group of vampires is and then they just get shot in the woods like a bunch of chumps.

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I was like "well that blew 60% of all that goodwill"

 

[lurksalot]

Was the flashback to the axe/door scene the original Shining footage, or reshot? It happened so quickly I wasn't 100% sure, but leaning toward original.
The Big Wheel scene was all reshot, right?

 

[Dusktildawn48]

Was the flashback to the axe/door scene the original Shining footage, or reshot? It happened so quickly I wasn't 100% sure, but leaning toward original.
The Big Wheel scene was all reshot, right?

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Nah, was the updated actress

 

[lurksalot]

Wow, it was really well done.

 

[lurksalot]

I loved how they portrayed the "cycling", it was just how I envisioned it.

Also, the scene of Rose travelling to Abra was beautiful.

 

[Kalmakov]

It was to disguise her true identity from Rose. But there is an additional layer to this. You might notice that the walls in Abra's room are adorned with characters from RWBY. One character in particular that she seems fond of is one of the series' antagonists Emerald who has the ability to decieve others with illusions that she creates. The camera even lingers on a figurine of this character on her nightstand at one point.

This same art is also seen as a poster in her room during the movie.

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Wow, I didn't realize they would actually take influence from RWBY of all things. I really wanted to know what that art was from too, so thanks!

 

[RedEther]

It was to disguise her true identity from Rose. But there is an additional layer to this. You might notice that the walls in Abra's room are adorned with characters from RWBY. One character in particular that she seems fond of is one of the series' antagonists Emerald who has the ability to decieve others with illusions that she creates. The camera even lingers on a figurine of this character on her nightstand at one point.

This same art is also seen as a poster in her room during the movie.

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One of the first things I noticed in the film was the Emerald figurine on the table.

RWBY stans unite

 

[DrEvil]

All the overlook stuff was great, they did an incredible job re-creating the various set pieces, even if it felt like a 'greatest hits' at some points.


The only thing that bothered me was that the second door (into the bathroom) that had REDRUM on it, both panels were fully axed in (in the Shining), not just one (in Doctor Sleep).


Also, early in the film when Danny is outside and Wendy comes yelling "Danny! Danny!" the actress sounded EXACTLY like shelly duvall, a number of people in my theater audibly made note of it, too.

 

[Teenage Fansub]

Did they keep his job of driving a miniature train from the book?

 

[Curt Baboon]

I was thoroughly entertained by this movie until it completely shit the bed once they get to the Overlook. The whole third act is basically a non stop parade of "Remember THIS?!!" moments, which completely undermines all the work and goodwill movie had built up to that point as a more organic and less derivative follow up to The Shining.

It's just a huge shame, because some of the earlier stuff is really effective. It's like the movie just loses its confidence by the end and uses Kubrick's film as a crutch to limp to the finish.

 

[jack_package_200]

Did they keep his job of driving a miniature train from the book?

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Its his side gig to his work as a hospice orderly.

 

[Border]

The part where the blood comes gushing out of the elevator and Rose just has a smile and a chuckle was pretty corny. It just felt like "We had to include this shot as a reference to Kubrick's movie, but couldn't figure out any reasonable way to put it in." It's literally just there for the hell of it, with no purpose and only a muted reaction from one character.

I feel like they ought to have at least had Abra run into the blood elevator and have a strong reaction, so she gets the sense that she is in over her head.

 

[Castamere]

Im a weird person. It was really jarring to me that Abras ears were pierced but she never wore earrings in the movie.

 

[Sqrt]

Rose the Hat wasn't threatening enough IMHO.

 

[carlsojo]

Rose the Hat wasn't threatening enough IMHO.

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I mean it really hurt her when the moment she met resistance from Abra she got her ass handed to her. Just straight up killed the tension there knowing she was so outmatched.

 

[Wolfgav]

The scene with Rose forcefully pulling her hand out of the cabinet will stick with me for a while. Also, why did they have to go back to the hotel? Especially, since Danny had the spirits all locked up already.

 

[thediamondage]

I've never watched The Shining - i'm just not into horror movies - I know the story and setup and stuff of Shining of course, its embedded in pop culture and I really enjoyed the sequence in Ready, Player One (movie) that kinda did the same thing as this movie.

I still enjoyed this movie, I agree the Knot Gang came across as cool but also really lame/dumb, the little girl seemed to have essentially infinite cosmic powers, and the whole subplot of "well, i'll lure her to this hotel which will solve the problem for us" was just bizarre. What if the hotel decided Rose the Hat was a great ally and teamed up with her? What if Rose consumed the hotel and grew her power? Given how easily Ewan wiped out the rest of the gang with two sniper rifles it was weird he didn't think he could do that again. The ending got a bit confusing as to what possessed him (why didn't it possess Rose?) and how easily the "hotel" gave up in the furnace room.

A bit disappointed with the teaser for sequels, having more shining vampires out there is fine but being so on the nose about laying it out was kinda lame. The way they all died was funny as hell honestly but also kinda cool visually.

Love some of the actors, the second in command hunter guy was in the last season or two of Fargo and fantastic in that, I wonder if he was native american and recruited into their gang. SnakeBite Andi was a weird character, kinda felt like the movie doesn't change a bit if she wasn't in it at all.

 

[DanteSparda504]

After seeing his Halloween costume video on Instagram, I'm upset that they missed the opportunity to have David Harbor portray Jack.

 

[Deleted member 18025]

Rebecca Ferguson in this movie... 🔥🔥🔥

Astral projection scene was really cool.

Didn't feel like two and a half hours. Pretty well pace and my eyes were glued to the screen the entire time.

That kid slaughter was disturbing. Those screams...

 

[burgervan]

The part where the blood comes gushing out of the elevator and Rose just has a smile and a chuckle was pretty corny. It just felt like "We had to include this shot as a reference to Kubrick's movie, but couldn't figure out any reasonable way to put it in." It's literally just there for the hell of it, with no purpose and only a muted reaction from one character.

I feel like they ought to have at least had Abra run into the blood elevator and have a strong reaction, so she gets the sense that she is in over her head.

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The entire Overlook section of the movie felt like that to me. It was all just gross fan service that added nothing to story they were telling and in several cases did a disservice to the original movie.

 

[Border]

The entire Overlook section of the movie felt like that to me. It was all just gross fan service that added nothing to story they were telling and in several cases did a disservice to the original movie.

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I think opinions on the Overlook sequence will be pretty divided. I really liked the idea of Danny going back to face his own literal and figurative ghosts, and thought that worked very well. As a climax it felt like a lot of buildup for a very quick fizzle-out. Having Rose just immediately get devoured by the ghosts seemed like an anti-climax, and because it was rushed so quickly they had to create this contrived dilemma where Danny has to get posessed and become an axe-wielding maniac. They should have just had the battle against Rose last longer rather than trying to create some secondary danger that Abra has to contend with.

EDIT: I also don't like the idea that the Overlook ghosts can just straight-up possess people. I like the idea that Jack went crazy, lost his grip on reality, and gave in to his absolute worst impulses. This movie pretty much leads you to believe that he was probably controlled by the Overlook completely, against his will.

 

[Sanjuro]

Furthermore, I had no idea that was Henry Thomas (Elliott from ET) who played Jack.

 

[Gustaf]

Uh the guy they got to play Jack Torrance was awful. Didn't look or sound anything like him.



That part was so shit.

They spent the better part of two hours building up how powerful and terrifying this group of vampires is and then they just get shot in the woods like a bunch of chumps.

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wat

yeah these dudes predating on kids are really powerful and terrifying!

they were chumps from the beginning.

 

[Winston1]

Saw it earlier today. Movie definitely is not in league with Kubrick's film, but it's far better than it has any right to be.

This really killed the movie for me. Jack redeeming himself in Doctor Sleep novel lets Danny have a resolution to the relationship he had with his father.

There's no resolution between Jack and Danny in the DS movie and it drives me crazy. Danny's trauma from his father/the Overlook is the whole thing driving his character for the film.. and it's just... forgotten at the end.

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To be totally fair, the Jack Torrance in the book is a different character from the film version. In the book, he's a flawed but loving father who is slowly driven to insanity by the supernatural forces in the hotel. In the movie, he's depicted as being off and despises his family right from the start. He had none of the redeeming qualities of the book counterpart and thus I don't mind how the film treated that part.

 

[VideogameVices]

Discount jack nicholson

movie was Good til the overlook horde sucking on rebecca Ferguson as a finale

 

[carlsojo]

Discount jack nicholson

movie was Good til the overlook horde sucking on rebecca Ferguson as a finale

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Real talk why did they even go to the Overlook when Danny could have dumped the Overlook ghosts on her anywhere.

 

[VideogameVices]

RebeccThat kid slaughter was disturbing. Those screams...

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It was Nicholas tremble - who played the autistic kid from THE PREDATOR which made the scene somewhat amusing to me

 

[Anton Sugar]

^ agreed. The movie seems to pick up on the movie's "the hotel just woke up the evil that was always inside him" Jack vs the book's "the hotel tipped him over the edge of an internal struggle with good vs evil" Jack.

I think the movie's "middle" is really strong. The references to death/fear of dying, some incredibly terrifying and effective scenes (baseball kid was horrifying, Abras trap are standouts), and the cat and mouse game between the Knot Gang and Abra was great.

I agree that it feels weakest when referencing The Shining and the final 20 mins feel sloppy and insecure. The logic of the hungry ghosts, the hotel, Danny's "turn"--it just didn't really work.

Also, the Knot Gang going out in a weak ass gunfight was a horrible decision. This is a movie where shine vampires suck steam souls out of people and half the bad guys just get...shot to death? Ugh.

Still, I mostly enjoyed it and when it's at its best, it really does feel unique and completely different from The Shining, in a good way.

Edit: also the first scene with Fake Nicholson was really effective for me, in a lot of ways. They shot it in profile, which helped the similarity, and the context of the scene made it hard to understand if he was supposed to be Jack or the waiter. The writing there was especially strong, too. I thought it was fantastic, to be honest.

The later scenes where you see him straight on...not so much.

 

[VideogameVices]

I just want to add to my earlier impression.

so in the forest - they can shoot these fuckers and normal guns can take them out super easy. And yet somehow in the finale, Danny is using a fucking axe. He didnt have to fucking die if he had driven to a gunstore, bought some guns, had whats her face - project out a clone and shot rebecca ferguson. One of the main things about the final act is that RF/rose didn't ... know about danny.

The movie kind of lost me at the overlook for its script stupidity.

 

[Spehornoob]

Really enjoyed this one. I read the book last year so it's still pretty fresh. In concept, I don't like Danny dying, because I prefer the much happier ending of the book, but I did appreciate how it was executed. Essentially giving him Jack's death from the original novel was a nice touch.

I didn't like that they threw in a few death for the sake of it. Billy's death in particular didn't sit with me too well. It just felt like it was added because, well, it's a horror flick and we need more deaths.

That said, it was altogether a fine film, and a really enjoyable time. Didn't rely on jump scares. The last 20 minutes are a Shining love fest but I think the movie had earned its keep enough to have a bit of fun with that by that point.

Also, would have liked to have seen more alcoholic/recovery stuff from Danny, but the movie was already long. Danny spends a lot of the book dealing with the shame of taking money from the girl he slept with at the beginning. It constantly pops up in his head. IIRC, him finally sharing it with someone is a huge bit of character development. Here it's just a bit of a footnote to show how bad his alcoholism is.

Mike Flanagan is really the perfect director to faithfully tackle King's stuff. Despite his horror author reputation, King is all about characters and relationships. His horror elements, while genuinely scary, are used to define and develop his characters. Flanagan nails that kind of thing.

 

[Deleted member 8901]

I thought this was terrible and was nothing I wanted out of a Shining "sequel". I guess some people liked that. I was expecting something closer to a horror/thriller - not a Harry Potter movie with force powers, vampires, and corny ass concepts/scenes like huffing steam off dead people and glowing eyes. Frankly, I thought 80% of the movie was straight up boring. If they were going to go back to the Overlook, they should have done something interesting with it but it just felt pointless and wasted. At no point in the film did it even feel like any of the characters were in danger at all.

I really thought this would be right up my alley considering I loved The Shining and enjoyed Haunting of Hill House (up until the ending). Oh well. I'd probably give this like a 4 or 5 out of 10.

 

[Gwarm]

This movie made no sense to me. Maybe people who liked the books are in, but as a sequel to The Shining it was a mess.

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I loved the book and said the exact same thing when we left the theater. The book is a very different beast than the Shining, and is really only a sequel in the sense that Danny is the main character. I absolutely loved the film but I think they are setting themselves up to disappoint a lot of people by playing into it being the next Shining.

 

[VideogameVices]

I thought this was terrible and was nothing I wanted out of a Shining "sequel". I guess some people liked that. I was expecting something closer to a horror/thriller - not a Harry Potter movie with force powers, vampires, and corny ass concepts/scenes like huffing steam off dead people and glowing eyes. Frankly, I thought 80% of the movie was straight up boring. If they were going to go back to the Overlook, they should have done something interesting with it but it just felt pointless and wasted. At no point in the film did it even feel like any of the characters were in danger at all.

I really thought this would be right up my alley considering I loved The Shining and enjoyed Haunting of Hill House (up until the ending). Oh well. I'd probably give this like a 4 or 5 out of 10.

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the reason why it feels boring is because its very slow... until the murder of jacob tremble the baseball boy, there really wasn't very much horror elements - just this odd slow character study (which is itself fine) and the movie splits it time 3 ways: Danny, Alma and then the vampiric cult.

There just wasnt anything here as strong as jack nicholson's performance that would anchor the show although I do think the Alma actress is quite good. I liked it whenever she was onscreen.

The one thing I did think the whole time I was watching this is: This movie will probably be a flop at the BO.