Doctor Sleep (Mike Flanagan, November 8, 2019) • Page 9

I guess a film being scary or not is subjective. Me, I found myself fascinated by the fantastical elements of the movie, the Knot and people who shine. And i was emotionally invested in Abra and Danny, and even to some extent Rosie, her moments of grief felt very human depsite her no longer being one. Like, I was able to sympathize with such an evil antagonist, because there were parts of her that were still relatable, whereas the monsters of the overlook are just... monsters. I really felt this movie, the same way I wish I did with IT Chapter Two.

 

I guess to me, scary these days is more so unsettling.

 

gonna rewatch this soon because I've forgotten most of it. I remember my first watch being lukewarm on it but I was also pretty distracted while watching.

 

My biggest problem is I really just never cared for The Knot while reading the book, and the movie didn’t change my mind.

Im just glad lots of people still loved it!

 

Best part of the book is 100% Danny’s struggle with alcoholism and the figurative ghost of his father and all he stood for in his life. I understand the movie couldn’t dive into it as in depth but I feel the Knot came off better in the movie than the book.

 

This exactly is what made me love the movie so much. The little bit of research I've done today points to the director's cut exploring this a little bit more than the theatrical.

 

yeah director's cut made the storyline about Danny changing the colour of his eyes so he won't remind Wendy of Jack explicit instead of just implied. that in turn made that final shot of them in the boiler room like 200x more impactful than it already was

probably my favourite change in the director's cut. although as a Dark Tower nerd, the ka reference had me squealing too

 

watched The Shining for the first time last week and then this one tonight. kinda liked this better than The Shining? but this was (obviously) better for having seen it’s predecessor.

all of the callback shots, especially the night version of the Overlook drive, were gorgeous and incredibly well done.

only halfway through Blank Check’s episode on The Shining, but their comments at the beginning about how much of a trace it left on film in general are definitely true, and I think that’s probably why the original film didn’t hit me as hard. not a horror person, at all, but finally had to watch these two, especially after three podcasts I follow covered The Shining this fall.

 

yeah The Shining is a movie I have very mixed feelings about. almost perfectly made and absolutely beautiful, but I feel no emotion about it at all which is a real failure to transmit some of the best aspects of King's novel. add to that Kubrick being an abusive dick and, yeah, I don't love it the way I used to

Doctor Sleep (especially the DC which is the only version I acknowledge) is nearly perfect to me, and oh boy does it rectify the issue of emotion being lacking lmao. Flanagan's work in general I find deeply emotional and sincere in the way a lot of horror isn't

 

Echo the sentiments about Doctor Sleep and especially the Director’s Cut. Definitely watch the Director’s Cut. Flanagan was the perfect choice as the story’s right up his alley (flow of time, stories about specific locations, past and present colliding) and I really think it will only age better with time.

 

I do very much love Kubrick's The Shining, but Doctor Sleep is an absolute masterpiece. Criminally underrated. I've only seen the Director's Cut but I can't imagine losing any of it.

 

As others have mentioned, the DC of Doctor Sleep is the way to see it. I saw it in theaters then bought the DC and couldn’t tell what was added. Despite greatly extending the run-time, it all felt needed.

I also absolutely love the shining and got to see in theaters/4K a few years ago. I try not compare them and love them both for different reasons

 

Mike Flanagan

really great read about the making of DS from Flanagan. always knew it was a personal project for him but I didn't realise quite how much

also, wild hearing that Matt Smith and Karen Gillan were both in talks for it

 

That's such a fantastic read. I didn't think I could appreciate this movie more than I already did.

 

he's got a great writeup about the making of Hill House on there too. it's pretty sad though so fair warning

I just love this man, one of the good ones