Doctor Sleep Review

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Directed by: Mike Flanagan

The inner demons we lock up in our mind have a way of unearthing themselves and finding a way to haunt the very fiber of your mind. The True Knot are a rather casual troupe of bohemians eagerly traveling from one stop to the next. To the untrained eye they are just regular people. To someone like Abra Stone, a young girl with the gift of the shine she sees what hides dormant. Something purely evil prowling for innocent lives like hers to consume. These villains are unlike anything I have seen. Something about them still lingers in my mind and disturbs me to the core. Maybe it's because they prey on children and the haunting visual of their attacks on the meek are as harmful as the ghosts hidden in the Overlook Hotel. Spirits laying ready to consume whatever causally makes it's way down it's unearthly corridors. The ghosts that Dan left behind have a way of finding their way back to him. Can Dan save Abra from the grip of the True Knot or will they both become fodder as countless others have?

This was one film I was so excited to finally watch. I have been in a bit of a writing funk on it. I had an idea what to rate it but to captivate how I felt was an entirely different subject. I still remember a lot of the visuals. As I mentioned, the visual of the True Knot torturing a young child not much older than my nephew has left me in a post status of feeling dumbfounded. I felt almost unsatisfied that I wasn't able to magically jump into the TV like Mary Poppins in a painting to save this child. It really bothers me. Of course, we have the grand finale of the showdown between Dan and Rose to thank for some form of satisfaction but it's not enough. I still feel angry. I think that is something to say for the casting choices in this film. Rose was a rather down to earth character I didn't think twice at first was the antagonist in this story. Then it hit me, that's what I feel adds to the general creep value. Someone who looks so completely harmless may house something so purely wicked inside. I think that visual association with the casting really worked for this film. It's a story about overcoming your inner demons and making them know who really is the boss. This was a great story although there were some major differences between the book. I hate to admit that I have yet to read. I did some research on it before writing this review. The cinematography was well put together. There were some jump scares to be expected. Overall this was definitely worth the wait.

8.5/10