Review: 'The Shining' sequel 'Doctor Sleep' succeeds under the influence of both King and Kubrick
When we first see little Danny Torrance in "Doctor Sleep," a crafty and curiously moving sequel to "The Shining," he is riding his tricycle once more through the serpentine corridors of the Overlook Hotel. The details are uncanny and instantly transporting: the boy's overalls and red shirt, the hexagonal pattern on the carpet, the gliding virtuosity of the tracking shots. For a moment it's as though nothing has changed, even though something clearly has.
So fully does the writer-director Mike Flanagan commit to the illusion he's conjured that you may not fully register the difference until Danny stops and turns his head - toward Room 237, naturally - revealing the profile of the actor playing him (Roger Dale Floyd). It's a deftly timed little reveal:
