Doctor Sleep Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

1. It's Just Not Scary

If Doctor Sleep has understandably been marketed on the strength of its relation to The Shining with a keen focus on Creepy Moments, the final film itself is actually not very scary at all.

Flanagan seems acutely aware that he can't outdo The Shining, and so instead opts for a movie that feels less like a horror and more a character-driven fantasy-thriller, if that makes sense.

Long sections of the movie are almost pure drama, totally bereft of anything even close to a typical genre set-up, and as long as you're aware of that going in, you'll probably be captivated enough not to care.

But more casual-skewing audiences seeing the movie on a Friday night with a giant box of popcorn, however, might be disappointed by just how low-key a "horror" it truly is.

It certainly would've been nice to see the screws turned a little tighter than this, for sure.

These issues and concerns aside, Doctor Sleep is a mighty fine movie. Here's everything it gets right...