Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Still scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance faces the ghosts of the past when he meets Abra, a courageous teen who desperately needs his help -- and who possesses a powerful extrasensory ability called the "shine".
Doctor Sleep is a competent but uneven horror sequel that struggles to escape the shadow of Kubrick's The Shining. Ewan McGregor delivers a solid, empathetic performance as the adult Dan Torrance, and Rebecca Ferguson is a genuinely menacing villain as Rose the Hat. The film's first two acts build atmosphere and emotional depth reasonably well, exploring addiction and trauma with some sincerity. However, the climactic return to the Overlook Hotel feels like fan service rather than organic storytelling — the ending leans heavily on nostalgia and CGI recreation of Kubrick's iconic imagery rather than forging its own identity. Cinematography is competent but rarely transcends the TV-movie aesthetic in many sequences. As a sequel, Novelty is inherently constrained, and the film ultimately recycles familiar Shining iconography rather than establishing a truly distinct voice, making it a watchable but derivative continuation.