Doctor Sleep Trailer Breakdown: 10 Things You Need To See

One of the most overt references to Kubrick’s original film is the use of the iconic theme music.

This simple and foreboding theme has become ingrained in pop culture over the last few decades, to the point that even audiences that haven’t necessarily seen The Shining are aware of the music simply through cultural osmosis. So from a financial standpoint, its inclusion makes perfect sense here, hammering home the idea that while it may not be called The Shining 2, this is indeed a sequel to The Shining.

From a creative standpoint, it’s also incredibly well incorporated. Saving it for the title reveal was definitely the right choice and the decision to unveil the title through this jumbled up letter formatting as the theme plays creates this disorienting and unnerving feeling. Visually, it forces your eyes to race across the screen, much in the same way the opening shots of Kubrick’s film did.

In short, the theme is great and if the actual film uses it even half as well as it is used in this trailer, we are in very good hands.