As the filmmaker continues to bring the author’s works to life, Mike Flanagan looks back on Stephen King’s glowing review of hisDoctor Sleepmovie. The 2019 movie served as an adaptation of both of King’sShiningnovels and a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 movie, exploring an adult Danny Torrance as he must step up to protect a young girl with Shining abilities from a vampire-like group known as The True Knot. Led by Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson,Doctor Sleepwas a hit with critics, but underperformed at the box office, grossing just over $72 million against its reported $55 million production budget.
During a recent interview withThe Hollywood Reporterfor the Toronto International Film Festival premiere ofThe Life of Chuck, Flanagan reflected on his experience makingDoctor Sleep. The writer/director, in particular, recalled Stephen King’s reaction to the movie, with Flanagan spending the entire screening with the author being worried he wouldn’t care for it,only for King to tell him at the end “You did a great job”. See Flanagan’s full comments below:
We brought Doctor Sleep to screen in Maine, and I sat next to him in his hometown theater in Bangor. I didn’t look at the screen at all. I just kept trying to subtly gauge any reaction. If he nodded, I thought, “Great, it’s working!” If he sighed or shifted, it was like, “Oh, he hates it!” And that was a long movie. Two and a half hours later, he leaned over and said, “You did a great job.” I just about died. Then he drove me to his house. We ate pizza and chatted in his library. He’s the nicest.
Flanagan Impressed King In More Ways Than One With Doctor Sleep
The Sequel Redeemed Kubrick’s Movie For King
King is pretty notable for being vocal in his displeasurewith a variety of past adaptations of his works, thoughKubrick’sThe Shiningremains the onehe’s talked the most about in regard to his frustrations. In the wake of the original release, the majority of King’s frustrations stemmed from the changes Kubrick made to his source material, though has expressed feeling more mixed about the movie in the years since, generally appreciating its unsettling atmosphere while still taking issue with the changes.
Interestingly, though he had the base idea for the sequel after writing the original novel, part of why King wrote theDoctor Sleepnovel was to fix some of the issues he had with Kubrick’sShining. When it came time for Flanagan to adapt the 2013 book for the screen, he initially was reluctant about some of the filmmakers' initial ideas, namely a return to the Overlook Hotel, which was destroyed at the end ofhisShiningbook. As he continued collaborating with Flanagan, though, King not only approved, buteven went so far as to praiseDoctor Sleepfor redeemingeverything he disliked about Kubrick’s movie.
How Doctor Sleep’s Appreciation Has Grown Since Its Release
A String Of Lackluster Adaptations & Flanagan’s Success Have Seen The Movie Reappraised
Though the movie may have underperformed at the time of its release,appreciation forDoctor Sleephas steadily grown over the past five years. Between the release of the movie’s director’s cut and arrival on streaming,theShiningsequelhas found a bigger audience after failing to match the same financial heights ofIt Chapter Twoand 2019’sPet Semataryremake. Beyond just the avenues of ways for audiences to watch it, there are a variety of other reasons why the movie has grown in popularity.
How 1 Scene From Doctor Sleep Helped Me Through A Dark Time
Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep is a haunting and nostalgic ride for Stephen King fans, but one scene proves surprisingly comforting in dark times.
One of the biggest factors forDoctor Sleep’s late-life success can be attributed toFlanagan’s own rise in success in the years since the movie came out. Just prior to the King adaptation, Flanagan found widespread acclaim forThe Haunting of Hill Houseand a year afterDoctor Sleepwith its anthology second season,The Haunting of Bly Manor. This success has grown exponentially over the past few years, including Netflix’sMidnight Mass, The Midnight ClubandThe Fall of the House of Usher, while also being recently signed to write and directa newExorcistmovie for Blumhouse.
In addition toThe Life of Chuck, Flanagan is also developing a series adaptation of King’sThe Dark Towerfranchise.
The other major reason whyDoctor Sleephas built a passionate fanbase isthe string of lackluster adaptations of King’s worksin the past five years. Both theChildren of the CornandFirestarterremakes were ravaged by critics, whileThe Boogeymansaw mixed reviews and a modest box office reception, and Paramount+‘sPet Sematary: Bloodlinesalso earned poor reviews. With Flanagan keeping himself busy with other King adaptations, fans ofDoctor Sleepcan look forward to many more hits in the future.
Doctor Sleep
Cast
Doctor Sleep, set decades after The Shining, follows Dan Torrance as he confronts his traumatic past at the Overlook Hotel. He encounters Abra, a teenage girl with powerful extrasensory abilities called the “shine,” who enlists his help in battling sinister forces.
