Doctor Sleep

An unnerving shocker is culled from Stephen King's sprawling sequel to The Shining by writer/director Mike Flanagan who expertly strips the novel back to meaningful basics with precision, amplifying its finer frights with visual flair and stylish assurance. Ewan McGregor is terrific as the grown-up Danny Torrance, an alcoholic now using his powers to alleviate anguish in a New Hampshire hospice. Destiny compels him to join telepathic teenager Abra (Kyliegh Curran, a true find) in fighting the True Knot, a sect of quasi-immortals led by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson on top whimsical psycho form), who are killing other gifted individuals for their psychic essence. It's an involving and gripping film, fraught with sophisticated tension and exhilarating threat, especially when Dan returns to the Overlook Hotel to confront past trauma in brilliant re-creations of Stanley Kubrick's classic milestone. Flanagan brings masterly touches to key moments of pure horror, like True Knot victim Bradley "Baseball Boy" Trevor's death, for a remarkably sinister and eerily on-target adaptation.