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SYFY WIRE The Shining

Doctor Sleep first reactions praise 'attempt to reconcile King and Kubrick'

By Jacob Oller
Doctor Sleep

Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining whose adaptation has trafficked heavily in imagery from Stanley Kubrick's film, has been talked about by its writer/director as threading the needle between its legacy with the filmmaker and its source author, Stephen King. Now first impressions of the Ewan McGregor-starring film have hit the internet, and it seems Flanagan has succeeded in his efforts to move forward, finding common ground in one of the most famous horror feuds in modern history.

The two-and-a-half-hour film's reactions so far have skewed positive. Specifically, critics who have seen Doctor Sleep praise Flanagan's ability to make the movie his own -- despite its deep connection to Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance and the Overlook Hotel -- while calling out villain portrayer Rebecca Ferguson as the film's scene-stealer. The two-and-a-half-hour film's reactions so far have skewed only positive.

Take a look:

Doctor Sleep follows a grown Danny Torrance as he embraces his psychic abilities and battles the demons of his past, all while helping Abra (a teen who shares the "shine" with Danny) battle the sinister forces of Rose the Hat (Ferguson) and the psychic-draining True Knot cult.

Doctor Sleep opens wide on Nov. 8, but some fans will get to see it early on Oct. 31.