Three to see
KEEP the Halloween vibe going with this blockbuster of a popcorn supernatural thriller from horror maestro Stephen King, which slashes its hypnotic creepiness with crowd-pleasing gore and violence.
It’s a sequel to his 1977 novel The Shining, which was famously filmed by legendary Hollywood director Stanley Kubrick in 1980 and starred Jack Nicholson as axe-wielding psychopath Jack Torrance.
Scottish actor Ewan McGregor stars as Torrance’s grown-up son who, having recovered from the childhood trauma of his dad running amok at the haunted Overlook Hotel, is now living a quiet life as a smalltown medical orderly.
He uses his psychic ability called ‘the shining’ to assist people in dying peacefully and befriends Kyliegh Curran’s teenager, Abra, who possesses prodigious powers of her own.
She’s pursued by an evil cult that feeds on the psychic essence of children to prolong their own lives, and it’s led by the demonically seductive Rose (Rebecca Ferguson).
Both women serve up compelling performances, while McGregor gives a wonderfully nuanced turn, meaning when
BY (15)
he occasionally apes the voice and mannerisms of screen dad Nicholson, it’s all the more effective and unsettling.
Mind you, McGregor’s Dan is called handsome so many times I wonder if he contributed to the dialogue.
The ghost of Kubrick appears in the impressive production design, especially in the now ruined Overlook Hotel with its geometrically patterned carpet and illuminated bar.
However, there’s a glossy multiplex style to the powerful CGI action, with a host of illusions, magic tricks, nightmares and out-of-body experiences, as well as a terrifically exciting gun fight.
Similar to this year’s other lengthy King adaptation, It Chapter 2, here the horror master underscores the paranormal with real-world darkness such as addiction, child abuse and suicide, while adding elements of European folklore like vampires.
Lacking Kubrick’s icy intellectual glare, Doctor Sleep is not a masterpiece, but it is thrilling and accomplished – far more than we could have hoped for or expected.