Ty Watches "Doctor Sleep" and Laments the Demise of Original Stories

On our quarantine date night this week my wife picked "Doctor Sleep" for us to watch. For those that may not know what this movie is, it is pretty much a sequel to "The Shining''. "The Shining'', in my opinion, is the scariest movie ever made. It still freaks me out. I can remember seeing it for the first time so vividly and how much it scared me back then. I have not watched it in my adult life because of how scared of it I truly am. So I was nervous watching "Doctor Sleep". But it was my wife’s turn, we made a rule where we cannot veto the other's choice and so we watched.

“Doctor Sleep” was a solid movie. I was scared. Not as scared as when I saw "The Shining", but there were moments when I jumped on the couch. I appreciated the story, how they developed it and the few tweaks they made. I liked how they went about saving the world that was created and how they showed a grown up Danny. The young lady that played Abra was really excellent, and the bad guys were as creepy as ever. And when they went back to the original hotel in the final scene, that was very cool. But I do not necessarily know that a movie like this needed to be made. Again, I thought it was good, but I think it was unnecessary.

I have been saying for a while now how there are not any really original ideas when it comes to the movie business lately. The studios are doing multiple sequels, giving franchises to almost anything, remakes are everywhere and "sequels" to classic movies are all the rage. That is why I get excited when I see a movie like "Sorry to Bother You" or watch a special like "Inside" or see a movie like "Uncut Gems". These are new ideas. These are fresh. These movies stay with you and make you think. "Sorry to Bother You" is one of the biggest mind f's I have ever watched, and I love that movie because of that reason. So I do not know that we really needed a "sequel" to such a classic horror movie. "The Shining" is right up there with "Night of the Living Dead" or "Misery" or "Carrie". These are the classics people think of when they think of horror movies. The biggest bummer, now that we have "Doctor Sleep", is that all of the movies I just mentioned have far inferior companion pieces to the original. I know they did a "Carrie" remake with Chloe Grace-Moretz that wasn't as good as the original. They've tried to do "Night of the Living Dead" a bunch of different ways but none have even come close to the greatness of the original. And now we have "Doctor Sleep". No one was going to be able to live up to what Jack Nicholson did in "The Shining". That was one of the best performances of all time. I know Stephen King may not be a fan, but most everyone else agrees that Nicholson crushed. Shelly Duval was excellent as well, even though she went crazy after making this movie. This may be Kubrick's best work as a director. I like "A Clockwork Orange" more, but his direction of "The Shining" is amazing. I think what makes a movie like "The Shining" so great is the performances. It is who you remember. And I know that the young kid that plays Danny in the original has a very big part, but I did not recall much from him other than the redrum scene and the scene where he is riding his tricycle through the hotel. "The Shining" was all about Duval and Nicholson. They were the stars. Their stories were what the audience cared about most. When they got to the hotel in "Doctor Sleep" my wife sat up and said, "this is what I have been waiting for". When the scene was over I asked what she thought, and she shrugged. I asked why she wasn't as excited and she said that it wasn't as good as what happens in "The Shining".

I do not want it to sound like I am dumping on "Doctor Sleep". I have said multiple times that I thought it was good. It is a solid B- movie. I think my biggest problem is just the lack of original ideas. I get the want from some people. I understand that some people want to see remakes or sequels to classic movies. I don't. Classic movies are classic for a reason. There doesn't need to be ten different versions of the same story. If you tell it right once, then you may only need a second if it is like "The Godfather Part 2"or "The Raid 2". Most movies do not need sequels or remakes. That is my thoughts on this whole new era of remakes or sequels. One classic movie is more than enough. Go watch the original movies and ignore the remakes and sequels.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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