Doctor Sleep: Ewan McGregor in Stephen King sequel

Even for those who have never seen Stanley Kubrick’s slow-burn horror The Shining, most people can recite ‘Here’s Johnny!’ with zero hesitation. The climactic moment of the film, when Jack Nicholson assaults a door with an axe in his fists and peers through the wreckage with a deranged smile, has been seared into the memories of viewers for almost four decades.

Terror is in the eye of the beholder, and The Shining has never been short of debate as to whether it is actually scary. Since it debuted to a mixed reception in 1980, the film has evolved to become a long-reigning cult classic.

With the bigwigs in Hollywood determined to squeeze some cash out of every classic film, The Shining is the latest addition to the assembly line of remakes, reboots and sequels with the upcoming Doctor Sleep.

Based on Stephen King’s 2013 novel, Doctor Sleep picks up years after the events at the Overlook Hotel. Still haunted by residual trauma (and ghosts), Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) has inherited his father’s bad habits, namely anger and alcoholism. When he takes a chance on sobriety, his psychic powers come flooding back, and he meets a young girl who shares his strange ability.

Sitting in the director’s chair is Mike Flanagan, who has risen to prominence as one of contemporary horror’s most exciting filmmakers. No one wanted another Oujia, but Flanagan saved the franchise from mediocrity when he helmed the sequel. From Oculus to The Haunting of Hill House, the director has been consistently terrifying audiences with his meticulous attention to detail and grounded approach to scares.

Following Kubrick is an unenviable task, so instead of avoiding the inevitable comparisons, Flanagan embraces them through homage. As seen in the film’s eerie trailer, the film will feature recreations of Kubrick’s most memorable sequences with an uncanny resemblance.

Expectations are high for Doctor Sleep, matched only by scepticism: will it retread the footsteps that Kubrick left behind, or forge its own path?