All horror fans are familiar with the horror master, Stephen King, aren’t we? As the best-selling American author has at least one novel being adapted into film every year. In fact, ‘IT’ which has taken us all by storm was actually written by him. But if these film adaptations like ‘IT’ or ‘Pet Sematary’ failed to satisfy you, ‘Doctor Sleep’ might be the one that can live up to your expectations.

Directed by Mike Flanagan, ‘Doctor Sleep’ is a sequel to ‘The Shining’, a film adaptation based on King's novel of the same name which was published in 1977. ‘Doctor Sleep’ also combines elements of the 1977 novel. The film adaptation of ‘The Shining’ made 39 years ago was known as one of the three most terrifying horror films ever made. It was also recognized as the most influential film in the history of horror films.

For those who are unfamiliar with ‘The Shining’, it tells the story of Jack Torrance, a writer who takes the job as a winter caretaker at Overlook Hotel in Colorado in the hope to clear his writer's block. He brings along his wife, Shelley and his son, Danny to the hotel. Danny has a psyche gift, ‘the shining’ that allows him to see ‘things’, for instance, ghosts living in the hotel. After settling down, the family is trapped by storm while Jack, manipulated by a ghost,  begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac trying to kill his wife and son.

Danny, who is now going by Dan, survived the events at the Overlook Hotel. He left Colorado with his mom to start a new life, not knowing that it is actually a beginning of another nightmare! His telepathic talent brings him nothing but pain. In order to suppress his shining, he turns into an alcoholic and his life becomes a mess. 

Dan gets a job at a hospice. Here, he meets a cat that has the ability to sense death. Dan notices that it always goes to patients who are dying while he himself helps dying patients by comforting them using his shining, which gives him the name of ‘Doctor Sleep’. 

 Dan was sought out by Abra, a teenage girl whose shining is more powerful than Dan's. Her strong extrasensory gift has caught the eyes of Rose the Hat, the leader of a cult, True Knot, that feeds off the shining of people who die in pain to gain immortality. Dan decides to help Abra, and both of them form an unlikely alliance to fight the evil cult.

The story was partly inspired by a cat, Oscar, at a hospice in America that is said to have the ability to predict deaths of dying patients. When King saw the news, he felt like writing a story about that. We can’t thank Oscar enough to have inspired the talented American writer, can we?

‘Doctor Sleep’ opens now in all cinemas in Malaysia! It is highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes (72%) and IMDb (76%). The film is also equally liked by other internet users. It has received 93% and 83% of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Google respectively. This indicates that it does not only show scary and thrilling events, but includes the issues on human and humanity as well.

If you happen to be a horror fan, or a King fan, don't forget to watch ‘Doctor Sleep’ in the cinema!