JP Nunez
On this episode of The Horror Obsessive Podcast, my cohost Sean Parker and I do something we’ve only done once before–we discuss a sequel. Back in March, we talked about the 2022 Scream requel, but in all our other episodes, we’ve focused exclusively on original films. And to be frank, there’s a good reason for that. Horror sequels are notoriously bad, so it makes sense that we would mostly pass them over. But there are a few worthwhile needles in this seemingly endless haystack of mediocrity, and on this episode of the podcast, we discuss one of the best: Mike Flanagan’s 2019 gem Doctor Sleep.
Doctor Sleep is an adaptation of Stephen King’s fantastic novel of the same name, and much like its namesake, it’s a sequel to The Shining (which is also both a movie and a Stephen King book). It takes place decades after that movie, showing us what Dan Torrance’s life is like as an adult. Like his father, Dan also struggles with alcoholism, but he eventually manages to overcome that addiction. He even finds a way to use his psychic abilities to help others, and when he meets a young girl named Abra, he has to use those powers one last time to help her fend off a group of despicable child murderers called the True Knot.
Doctor Sleep is an outstanding film that, to this day, still doesn’t quite get the recognition it deserves, and Sean and I talk about all the reasons we love it. For example, we discuss the ingenious way it bridges the gap between the two versions of The Shining, the movie’s beautiful message about redemption, and the perennially relevant theme of being unafraid to let your true self shine.
On top of that, we also go over some of the best news to hit the horror world in the last two weeks, including the recent release of A Haunting in Venice, the outstanding films I saw at Fantastic Fest, and the upcoming TV show Gen V. And as always, if you enjoyed listening to us talk about Doctor Sleep, join us again in two weeks for the next episode of The Horror Obsessive Podcast, when we’ll be joined by Michelle Iannantuono, the director of Livescreamers, along with some of the film’s cast to discuss the 1985 comedy mystery Clue.
