How do you follow up The Shining? The answer to that is quite simple. You don’t and Doctor Sleep seems to know that as it works mostly as its own thing. Doctor Sleep is a pretty decent horror thriller despite its inadequate plot structure and over indulgence in references to The Shining.

40 years following his traumatic experience in the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance is trying to live a normal life, conquering his alcoholism and recovering from his past demons. He’s disrupted however by Abra, a teenage girl who shares Dan’s ‘Shine.’ He discovers that a cult is tracking Abra and intend to feed off her powers. Dan and Abra form an alliance and battle the cult, the conflict eventually forcing Dan to return to the source of his demons.

The Characters

Clocking at 2 hours and 31 minutes, Doctor Sleep is a long watch. For good reason? For the characters I’d say yes. There are some scenes that could be trimmed or cut out altogether for the sake of pace, however they do serve a purpose in that they get us to know the characters. In fact, most of the first hour is dedicated to establishing them. We learn about how they live, who their friends and family are and, most importantly, about their relationships with their Shine.

Some of Dan Torrance’s scenes at the beginning could be shortened as he doesn’t really enter the plot until the second act. All he really does is fight his alcoholism and maintain his job at a hospice, which while interesting and expresses the film’s theme, diverts from the main plot. When he does join the main plot however, he’s a very compelling watch, especially considering his history from The Shining. Dan has to use the power he’s been repressing for years to protect a child from a threat worse than the one he faced. He becomes Abra’s guardian and protector. His scenes may take up too much time but Dan Torrance is still well written and quite empathetic.

Abra is more empathetic though. She’s the most vulnerable character in the story. Her Shine is immense compared to others, which makes her a target for the cult. As the film progresses her scenes become more and more tense as you’re just terrified that the cult’s going to catch up with her. She’s the best character in the film and, unlike Dan, deserves all the screen time she has.

The cult, known as the True Knot, is led by a woman called Rose the Hat. We learn that she and the cult feed off peoples’ Shine to sustain their lives. While they’re not immortal absorbing Shines can make them live for hundreds of years. The way they take it off people is really disturbing, hence you not only want them to fail in getting Abra’s but suffer for it. However, the cult’s motivation is understandable and you see and feel their family-like chemistry. The True Knot is a rare breed of antagonist that you simultaneously dislike and empathize with. They’re brilliantly written.

The Plot

Doctor Sleep is long and while for establishing Abra and the True Knot the length is justified, for the overall narrative however I have some reservations.

As I stated earlier Dan Torrance gets a little too much time at the beginning but that can be forgiven as character development. However, towards the end of the second act certain beats occur too quickly. Avoiding spoilers, the second act climax is big and results in major ramifications in the plot but there’s almost no build up. It happens so quickly and lacks the dramatic punch it should deliver. It’s at this point I’m critical of Dan’s screen time in the first act as I think the second act climax deserves more development than Dan’s introduction.

One other issue with the plot is its references to The Shining, particularly towards the end. For the most part the references are necessary and serve the plot, which is something I can’t say about most sequels and reboots. Unfortunately, towards the third act climax the references begin to blur the line between plot progression and just cynical fan service.

For a sequel that didn’t really need to exist, Doctor Sleep is a solid film with its well written characters and engaging plot. The plot’s structure, the references and the long runtime may hinder it from being anything near the mythical status of The Shining but it doesn’t need to be.

I give Doctor Sleep a good 8 out of 10.