Make It A Stephen King Double Feature With This Classic And Sequel Streaming On Max
While many have their focus shifted to the latest feature-length adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, which is now streaming on Max, some might not even realize that the best possible double feature is right under their noses. Right now, subscribers can tune in for a movie night like no other, as both The Shining and Doctor Sleep are available on the streamer.
First, lay the groundwork with the Stanley Kubrick film that started it all before transporting into the future through Mike Flanagan’s follow-up production with both movies at your fingertips.
Both The Shining and Doctor Sleep are based on the Stephen King-penned novels of the same names. The first, released in 1977, was made into a film courtesy of the legendary director Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange) in 1980 while the second, published in 2013, was adapted for the big screen by genre favorite, Mike Flanagan (Gerald’s Game), in 2019.
Jack Nicholson In The Shining
The Shining follows the story of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) who, after landing a job as the winter caretaker at a resort in the mountains of Colorado, moves his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), into the hotel with him.
Almost immediately, a sinister force makes itself known at the Overlook Hotel, specifically to Danny who has a psychic ability that comes to be known as “the shine”.
As the horrific events unfold and Jack falls further into madness, the film sets up quite an interesting sequel with Doctor Sleep.
Doctor Sleep
Just like in the story, years passed between the time it took Stephen King to write The Shining and Doctor Sleep, with the author eventually finding himself thinking about what happened to Danny following the traumatic events of the first story.
The sequel follows an adult Dan (Ewan McGregor) still plagued by the demons of his past and, like his father, using drinking as a coping mechanism.
After getting sober, Dan’s path crosses on the psychic plane with a young girl who also possesses the shine who, because of her powers, becomes the target of a group that siphons the shine from others to stay immortal.
The Shining Is A Classic
When it comes to The Shining, the movie will forever go down as one of the most beloved titles from Kubrick’s career – even if it didn’t stay very close to its original source material and is notoriously hated by King.
Against its $19 million budget, the movie earned more than $47 million and quickly rose through the ranks of notarizing itself as an American classic, even being added to the U.S. National Film Registry in 2018. On the other hand, Doctor Sleep had just about the opposite response – at least at first.
Doctor Sleep Is Less Known
Billed as the sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep was arguably a lesser-known title when it hit screens in 2019. With a production budget of $45-55 million, the movie’s box office earnings of just above $72 million were hardly as impressive as what the title that came before it earned.
Boasting leading performances from Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, and Carl Lumbly, it’s truly a shock that the follow-up installment didn’t have more of a turnout during its initial release.
Stream The Shining And Doctor Sleep
However, while The Shining is still considered to be a classic, it’s the slow-burn success of Doctor Sleep that has made it more of a cult favorite over the last several years.
This, in part, is thanks to the ever-growing star power of its helmer, Mike Flanagan, who, in the years since Doctor Sleep’s release, has become a household name.
It’s also worth noting that, while King absolutely detested what Kubrick did with The Shining, he not only heralded Flanagan’s work on Doctor Sleep but the sequel was the second of now three of the author’s titles that Flanagan has made work on the big screen.
Stream The Shining and Doctor Sleep now on Max.
