JASON EVANS' 100 WORD REVIEWS: Dr. Sleep



Why take forever to say what can be said quickly? Film critic Jason Evans gives you everything you need to know about movies in exactly 100 words. Here is his 100 Word Review of Dr. Sleep.


The Premise: This sequel to Stephen King’s masterpiece, The Shining, largely takes place 40 years after the events of Stanley Kubrick’s classic film. Psychically powered Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) has grown up a broken man, still haunted by what he saw in the Overlook hotel. But, he cleans himself up and soon finds he has a connection to another little girl with strong psychic abilities, Abra (Kyliegh Curran). Meanwhile, a small cult led by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) is searching for children with “the shine” who they kill in an effort to unlock the secret to eternal life… and they have their eyes on Abra.

The 100 Words: There are some wonderful ideas and inspired performances in this film that is more thriller than horror. I loved the callbacks to the original Shining at the start and the final third is an outstanding edge-of-your-seat treat. But I would be remiss if I did not say the 2 ½ hour running time was too long. The film really struggles with pacing in the middle third and could have used a tighter edit. But, it took real courage to revisit something as perfect as The Shining and fans will enjoy dipping their toes back into this creepy and captivating universe. 

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