Doctor Sleep Trailer Breakdown: 10 Things You Need To See

The trailer begins with a cold opening which is essentially just a snippet of a scene proper from the actual film, in which we get the chilling return of Redrum.

Redrum was featured sparsely in King’s original Shining novel but was made iconic through its use in Kubrick's film, as a word that young Danny would say over and over again, going so far as to eventually write it on a door. When Wendy eventually sees the word’s reflection in the mirror, she realizes that it is “murder” backward and that’s right around when everything goes to Hell.

So starting the trailer off with an adrenaline-pumping recreation of this, as Danny’s first glimpse of the word being supernaturally carved into his wall is through a mirror of his own, is a bold move. Again, seeing as Redrum was not even an element in King’s original novel, it was not featured at all in the Doctor Sleep novel either, so this is a completely original addition.

One which could hint toward one of the film’s big secrets, but more on that later.