The Unsettling Final Trailer for 'Doctor Sleep' Ramps Up the Scares and References to 'The Shining'

Overview

For four decades, The Shining has been responsible for many a nightmare — not only due to Stephen King's 1977 bestseller, which helped cement him as a horror maestro, but courtesy of Stanley Kubrick's unnerving and acclaimed 1980 film. If you've ever been spooked by twins, garish hexagonal hotel carpet designs, sprawling hedge mazes, elevators filled with blood, someone shouting "here's Johnny!" or just Jack Nicholson in general, you have this macabre masterpiece to thank.

From parodies to homages to overt recreations, The Shining is also the unsettling gift that keeps giving. Everything from The Simpsons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Ready Player One has nodded the movie's way — as has documentary Room 237, which attempted to delve into its many secrets, meanings, theories and interpretations, too. But they've got nothing on the actual sequel to the eerie story. It picks up decades later, following the now-adult Danny Torrance as he tries to cope with the fallout from his supernatural gift. (Oh, and the memory of being terrorised by his axe-wielding dad as well.)

In the first trailer for Doctor Sleep — which is based on Stephen King's 2013 novel of the same name — all work and no play made Danny (Ewan McGregor) something something. Perturbed, mainly, as he grappled with the trauma he experienced in The Shining. Then he met a mysterious teenager (Kyliegh Curran) who also has the gift, and things got creepier than a ghastly woman peering out of a bath or the word 'redrum' written on a mirror.

The teaser was filled with references to the film's predecessor, naturally; however the just-dropped new sneak peak ramps up the nods even further. This time, Danny heads back to the Overlook Hotel to confront his past, and things get even more ominous.

Rebecca Ferguson, Bruce Greenwood and Room's Jacob Tremblay also star, with The Haunting of Hill House's Mike Flanagan in the director's chair. While King was famously unhappy with Kubrick's take on The Shining — even writing the script for a three-part TV mini-series version in the 90s — here's hoping that he approves of Flanagan's vision. This is actually the filmmaker's second King adaptation, after Netflix flick Gerald's Game.

Check out the latest Doctor Sleep trailer below:

Doctor Sleep releases in Australian cinemas on November 7, 2019.