•Stephen King has never been shy about his dislike for Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his 1977 novel bağlantı”>The Shining. While the film is widely regarded as one of the best horror movies ever made, Kubrick’s portrayal of Jack Torrance and the Overlook Hotel strongly displeased King.
As detailed in the book bağlantı”>Fright Favorites: 31 Movies to Haunt Your Halloween and Beyond, King objected to Kubrick casting Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, favoring actors such as Martin Sheen. He also criticized the depiction of Wendy Torrance, played by Shelley Duvall, calling it “one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film” — a notable remark given accusations of misogyny directed at King’s own novels.
However, King’s feelings toward Kubrick’s adaptation have changed, and Mike Flanagan is responsible. Best known for his award-winning Netflix horror series such as Midnight Mass, Flanagan’s adaptation of the sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, has altered King’s perspective on the film.
Mike Flanagan Combined Kubrick and King’s Visions
A sequel to such a beloved story faced considerable challenges. Would it satisfy original fans? Could it stand alone, or would it feel like a nostalgic cash grab? King addressed these concerns with his 2013 novel Doctor Sleep, which Distribuidoras Weekly praised as “a gripping, taut read that provides a satisfying conclusion to Danny Torrance’s story.”
Both the novel and its 2019 film adaptation follow an adult Danny Torrance, whose experiences at the Overlook Hotel — including his father’s violence and death — continue to haunt him. Working as an orderly in a hospice, Danny uses his psychic gifts to comfort dying patients and forms a mental bond with a young girl named Abra. Unbeknownst to them, a vampire cult called The True Knot is hunting Abra to feed on her “Shine” — the psychic ability she and other children possess.
Although Flanagan had King’s novel to draw upon, he told the author from the outset that he would also take direct inspiration from Kubrick’s The Shining. Combining Kubrick’s visual masterpiece with King’s original vision was not easy, but Flanagan was determined to get it right.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m a King fanatic, I have been since I’m a kid, you are my hero, but when I read Doctor Sleep, all the images in my head were Kubrick’s images.’ There’s no other language to tell that story in. If you say ‘Overlook Hotel,’ I see something. It lives right up in my brain because of Stanley Kubrick. You can’t pretend that isn’t the case.”
Mike Flanagan, speaking to Entertainment Weekly
A Scene That Won King Over
As expected, King was initially reluctant. He had once described Kubrick’s film as “a Cadillac with no engine in it” — something that looked impressive but served little purpose. Flanagan believed he could blend the best of both into something King would approve.
He pitched King a scene near the film’s conclusion, placing Danny inside the Overlook Hotel. This departed from the novel, where the hotel lies in ruins, making King’s acceptance of the change all the more surprising.
With so much of Kubrick’s adaptation inspiring Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep, some changes were made to align with the film. These alterations remained fairly minimal, and Flanagan strove to remain as faithful as possible.
A Sweet Redemption for ‘The Shining’
The result was an ambitious sequel that critics praised highly, even though it underperformed at the box office. Its true victory lay in allowing King to finally appreciate his most-hated film.
“Mike took my material, he created a terrific story, people who have seen this movie flip for it, and I flipped for it, too,” King told Entertainment Weekly. “He managed to take my novel of Doctor Sleep, the sequel, and somehow weld it seamlessly to the Kubrick version of The Shining, the movie. So, yeah, I liked it a lot.”
Stephen King
It took 39 years, but seeing The Shining redeemed in the eyes of its original creator makes for an endearing story.
Doctor Sleep is now available to stream on Paramount Plus.
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