2017's Gerald's Game was a huge surprise for a lot of people. The book it's based on is largely comprised of imaginary conversations taking place in the protagonist's head, and many thought it impossible for that to be translated to film. Mike Flanagan pulled it off though. Showing that he could bring Stephen King's more difficult to portray material to life onscreen with great effectiveness and creating one of the best adaptations of any of the author's work to date in the process. I'd argue he faced a greater challenge with Doctor Sleep however. Not only does a significant portion of the action once again take place inside the minds of the characters, but the story also serves as sequel to The Shining. This put Flanagan in the unenviable position of having to decide whether or not he actually wanted to make this a direct follow-up to the legendary Kubrick film, or forsake any such connections and try to make it as self-contained as possible. No matter what the director chose, The Shining would always be a part of the conversation due to the shared continuity of their source materials, but the latter option did at least come with the potential to avoid some of the harsher scrutiny that would likely arise from establishing this as a continuation of what some consider to be the single greatest piece of horror cinema ever created. Flanagan ultimately took the risk and went the sequel route. Tweaking a few things from the novel in the process so that it could tie in better with Kubrick's version of The Shining. A decision that might have actually been beneficial to the story as it allowed him to remain very faithful to the source material while giving him a means to cut out King's ridiculous surprise relative twist. The new ending also redeems the lack of fidelity inherent in the Kubrick film by managing to stay true to the heart and soul of both books at the same time. While the events that occurred in The Shining are significant in that they define who Danny is in this movie, outside of the final act that's a little too heavy on nostalgia-based scene recreations Doctor Sleep largely does its own thing and in its own way. Even to the point kind of moving away from straight horror in favor of something more akin to dark fantasy. For the majority of it's lengthy running-time it's decidedly not Kubrick which allows it to succeed on its own merits, of which there are many. This is one haunting piece of cinema with some truly horrific moments that will stick with you. It's a violent tale of mind-bending psychic warfare with a strong dramatic component centered around PTSD, regret, and the desire for redemption in a cruel, hungry world. All of which is backed by incredible performances across the board. Rebecca Ferguson's natural accent slips through once or twice making the weakest link, but her sexy yet terrifying villain is so memorable that it almost goes by unnoticed. I would really love to see Flanagan tackle more King in the future. The author has often experimented with more fantastical conceits of the mind and many directors have struggled making those ideas work onscreen. Flanagan however has pulled it off twice now with stunning results. Doctor Sleep is incredibly gripping. Pop-culture's obsession with the '80s throwback shows up here near the end and finds the director putting on an unnecessary Kubrick impression, but that's the single misstep in a movie that's otherwise confident enough to build upon and branch off from its predecessor in order to take a different path that cements it as a worthy successor and an excellent film in its own right.