Where do I even start with this one, it was a fantastic follow-up to The Shining. Flanagan really did a fantastic job with this one! I don't want to ruin it for anyone so I'll try not to giveaway any spoilers here.
Visually it's beautifully shot, with some amazing shots to reference The Shining. The cast was fantastic and worked really well together. Rebecca Ferguson as the film's villain, Rose The Hat, was great and surprisngly creepy in parts. McGregor was perfectly cast as Dan Torrance and gave a solid performance. For me though it was the young Kyliegh Curran, who played Abra, that stood out. She was brilliant, I think she's got a good acting career ahead of her.
The story was great and well paced. They reshot parts of The Shining with look alikes, and they did a fantastic job doing so. The ending of this was rather poetic if I'm honest, considering King hated Kubrick's film ending. It's more a homage and thank you to Stephen King. You'll see what I mean when you watch it.
I haven't read the book on a while but as far as I can remember the film is somewhat different. The highlight for me was the climax of the film, I won't go into too much detail here but it goes full circle and they return to The Overlook Hotel...is was amazing! This was a real fanboy moment for me!
All in all a fantastic film and great sequel to The Shining. Flanagan managed to make a wonderful film here that not only respects and pays homage to Kubrick and King but manages to be original and further expands the mythology and story of The Shining. And the nostalgia...my God it's amazing, there'll be several moments throughout that will being a smile to you're face. You get to see familiar faces, relive moments from The Shining and hear a very memorable soundtrack. I couldn't help but smile! It's a must see folks, especially for fans of The Shining!
Now I'm gonna have to re-read both books.
What were your thought on the film?
Picture credit- Warner Bros Pictures
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