Plot introduction
"Doctor Sleeper" is a 2019 American fantasy thriller film directed by Mike Flanagan, starring Ivan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Karel Strucky , Adapted from Stephen King’s novel of the same name, the sequel to Kubrick’s classic horror film "The Shining". The story tells about the trauma of the Panorama Hotel many years ago. Danny tried hard to lead a peaceful and simple life, but after receiving it like him After the girl with the "shining" ability called Abraham for help, he had no choice but to step forward to face his past inner wounds and fight against the mysterious organization "True Knot" that was secretly hunting young teenagers.
is a great
adapted from Stephen King’s novel in 1980 and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The horror and thriller film "The Shining" has an unshakable position in film history. Among them, the hotel is uninhabited in the cold winter. The unexplainable supernatural phenomenon makes people feel strange and uneasy from the bottom of their hearts, and uses the mysterious ability "shining" to reflect many social realities and domestic violence issues. It not only affected countless subsequent film and television works, and made the phrase "Here's Johnny" imprinted in the hearts of movie fans forever. Even "Ready Player One" Steven Spielberg restored the panorama hotel scene with video games in the film. Now, 39 years later, the relaunch of the sequel "Doctor Sleeper" from this classic work, will it bring the status of "The Shining" to a higher level, or make Kubrick's hard work fall short?
The moving of recreating classic movies
I believe that many fans have some doubts in their hearts. What kind of life will Danny, who successfully escaped from the Panorama Hotel, live in the future, and what impact will the Shining have on him? After Jack the murderer froze to death in the maze at the end of "The Shining", the subsequent development of the story that Kubrick did not explain has become our most curious and most concerned suspense. Therefore, "Doctor Sleeper" focuses the story on Danny who has been so many years away, and exposes him to new characters and threats. Through the scars that cannot be erased in his heart, he brings out the horror scenes he experienced in The Shining in the past. Can you know how important the movie "Doctor Sleeper" is in the hearts of the audience.
"Dream Doctor" has a broader story pattern than "The Shining", and the whole has a rather strong Stephen King taste. Starting from the "deep fear of the human heart" he is best at describing, through Ivan McGregor Playing Danny, who has become a middle-aged man after 39 years, tells the story of childhood nightmare that cannot completely disappear even if his body grows, just like "The Clown's Recall 2". The "The Shining", an ability that was not clearly explained at the time, has been changed. With more follow-up extensions and expansions, you can clearly feel the brilliance of the "Doctor Sleeper" script, and perfectly achieve the two important goals of serving old fans and attracting new audiences.
still uses the Shining as the core.
also left a lot of blank space in the story of "The Shining" and did not describe the Shining in too much detail, so this time "Doctor Sleeper" has a lot of room for development, regardless of It was when Danny was still helped by a black chef who also had the shining, but who had passed away, after escaping from the hotel, or the film extended various telepathy from the original message that could only convey information, and even fed on the shining. The "True Knot", who can live forever, watched the leader "Ross with the Top Hat" repeatedly plundering people's spirits with his companions, and competing with the girl Abraham against the shining in the air, "Doctor Sleeping Dream" "Successfully condensed the original story of "The Shining" in the hotel, and made a more ambitious and follow-up development attempt.
has directed "Before the Dream", "Death Divination 2: The Origin of the Evil", the TV series "Ghost Invasion" and other horror works, Mike Flanagan, this time in "Doctor Sleeper" unexpectedly Satisfactory results. Except for the original setting of "The Shining" and the Panorama Hotel, he did not try to replicate Kubrick's original success, but used his past experience to walk his own path. The Shining is related to the mind and thoughts. The superpowers of "X-Men" are the core, and the superhero film skin that appears to be a "X-Men" mutant is used to package the journey of how to heal psychological trauma, recover from childhood shadows, and finally get life redemption.
A successful sequel movie
I like the balance between "Doctor Sleeper" in the content of the story and commercial entertainment, although not like CooperLectra stacks the audience’s oppression and fear from the character mood and supernatural phenomena. The overall psychological thrill is not so high. This may disappoint the audience who expect to see another "The Shining" again, but "Doctor Sleeper" Combining elements of fantasy and horror, not only is there almost no "Jump scare" in the whole film, the film is 151 minutes long, and the director also has a very precise grasp of the plot rhythm, gradually advancing, and the interlocking plot tells the story completely Fluency, no excessive symbolic metaphors, and a thorough discussion of the theme, makes us deeply attracted by the characters and many events in the film.
Stephen King thinks that "Doctor Sleeper" is the most satisfactory adaptation of the film after "Shawshank's Redemption". It is not surprising that the whole film almost retains the core spirit of the original and pays tribute to all "The Shining" fans. I want to see the elements again, and I can calm down to tell a charming, full and inspiring story. Just as Danny, who grew up, repeated his father’s alcoholism, came to live in a small town in the north alone. After the help of the mutual aid society successfully stopped drinking, he followed the cats in the hospital to help the dying elders. With the appearance of the girl Abraham, he was forced to face the past hidden deep in his heart and return to the Panorama Hotel where the nightmare was rooted to help Abraham defeat the villain who threatened the children, and we seem to be able to learn from this whole story. Find the important themes that several works of "Doctor Sleeper" want to convey.
The true theme of Doctor Sleeping
is like "Doctor Sleeping" even though it has shown so many abilities, the audience still cannot understand the exact role and conditions of the "shining". Therefore, in a situation full of unknown and uncertain, we It can also be interpreted and explained in various ways, such as treating it as the "emotions" that exist in our hearts, or any "interaction methods" around our lives with others. The two films "The Shining" and "Doctor Sleeper" constantly emphasize that many people have the Shining, but they don't know it. The first episode of "The Shining" sets the scene in an isolated hotel and presents it as the Shining. How people become crazy and irrational under high pressure, and "Doctor Sleeper" focuses on what it means to a person through the ability of the shining to convey thoughts and emotions.
Stephen King’s works have always been more than pure horror, but reflect our true appearance, making in-depth discussions on human nature, character personality and behavior choices. Therefore, the core of "Doctor Sleeper" is not just to bravely face the dark side of his heart and those unwilling to look back in the past, but also because Abraham does not regard the Shining as a burden like Danny, but wants to use it. It comes to the attitude of helping others, telling about the greatness of people in society supporting each other and willing to spend their own time to help others. Just like the "The Shining" black chef got up and rushed to the panoramic hotel under a blizzard when he received a call for help. When he grew up, Danny used the Shining to help the dying patient to leave safely and was called the "Doctor of Sleep", and he had the courage to face it. I was afraid to stand up for Abra, who had never met, so that this wonderful behavior could continue.
A story about men
In addition, this may be Stephen King’s feelings and insights from before to now. In The Shining, he portrayed Jack as a man who had committed domestic violence, but brought him in winter for the livelihood of his family. The father who came to the Panorama Hotel with his family to work, and "Dream Doctor" also used Ivan McGregor, a middle-aged man who came to a rural town to find a job with a heavy heart scar, showing that men are being affected by society. The problems that may be encountered in the inspection of traditional values, from the dialogue between him and his father in the hotel at the end of the film, whether it is the responsibility of supporting the family or the invisible pressure and restriction caused by the society’s expectations of men, they have also become "Doctor Sleeping "The theme to be explored behind.
Stephen King deliberately arranged for Danny to partner with Abraham, making them a pair of middle-aged men and young girls who are a bit strange in the eyes of others and may need to call the police. Together with the early part of the movie, they were dating young girls in the theater. The man who stole money and left scars, as well as Danny’s worries about sitting on a bench when the two met for the first time. I think these evil tastes are Stephen King’s ridicule of social unfairness as a man. criticism. Just imagine, if Danny can survive in the end, how would the police and the public view this person in the face of those true knots who have long since turned into ashes and disappeared? Think of him as a hero to save Abra, or as abducting a young girl, he will kill herself for many yearsThe perversion of friends and girl fathers? The answer is already very obvious.
Film review conclusion
Overall, "Doctor Sleeper" is definitely an excellent and competent sequel, which perfectly combines the cool style of Kubrick's "The Shining" with the needs of the audience who mostly pursue entertainment today. The new villains and races focus the story on people’s inner problems and predicaments. Whether it’s fear of death, the shadow of childhood hidden in the heart, or having great talents, but not being affirmed by their parents, they have succeeded in bringing the Shining Give renewed development. Looking at the scene of returning to the Panorama Hotel at the end, I think whether you have watched "The Shining" or not, this time "Doctor Sleeper" will make you want to watch it in its entirety and think of those great works of fearful memories back then.
