<em>Doctor Sleep</em>: A Horror Sequel That Tries to Do the Impossible

Let me try to sum up as simply and sanely as possible: The film, written and directed by the emerging horror maestro Mike Flanagan, is based on Stephen King’s 2013 novel, which is itself a sequel to King’s 1977 classic, . King’s pointedly avoided any reference to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film , an adaptation that the author has , despite its lofty status in the horror-movie canon. In taking on this is a long, measured, and fairly faithful adaptation of King’s work. On the other, it’s a loving homage to Kubrick’s film, one that painstakingly re-creates the look and feel of its most famous location, the haunted Overlook Hotel.