Doctor Sleep (2019)

Doctor Sleep (2019), an American supernatural horror film, is the work of director Mike Flanagan and is based on Stephen King’s 2013 novel with the same title. Acting as a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining, it follows Dan Torrance who continues to suffer from the traumatic events that occurred at the Overlook Hotel. The spirits of the hotel now haunt him in search of his ‘shining’. With guidance from the ghost of Dick Hallorann, Dan learns how to trap these ghosts in psychic lockboxes. Fast forward to 2011, Dan has turned to alcoholism as a means to suppress his abilities. However, after relocating to a town in New Hampshire and finding solace through Alcoholics Anonymous, he becomes a hospice orderly and is known among the patients as ‘Doctor Sleep’. On the other hand, we are introduced to the True Knot – a cult of psychic vampires led by Rose the Hat – who sustain themselves by consuming ‘steam’, which is released through torturing and murdering individuals with “shining”. This group particularly targets children.

In the year 2019, a young girl named Abra Stone possesses greater shining abilities than Dan. Through telepathy, she reaches out to him and they form a strong psychic bond. Meanwhile, the True Knot are struggling to survive as steam has become scarce. In their desperation, they cruelly torture a boy for his steam. Abra senses this and alerts Dan, but Rose catches on and invades Abra’s mind. A clever trap set by Abra injures Rose, prompting her to send her followers after the girl in hopes of using her powers for their own gain. To combat this threat, Dan enlists the help of his friend Billy and Abra’s father Dave. In a fierce battle, most of the True Knot are eliminated, but at a great cost as Billy and Dave lose their lives while trying to protect Abra. Ultimately, it is up to Dan to save her from Rose’s partner Crow Daddy by taking control of her body and killing him.