Horror author Stephen King directly confronted the patterns of alcoholism and violence and how to get on the road to recovery in his 2013 follow-up to his classic novel The Shining, Doctor Sleep. It was the culmination of King's own decades of sobriety drawing on his own experiences as a former alcoholic who found a way out. Six years later, modern horror maestro Mike Flanagan would take up King's story with his film adaptation of the novel which also served as a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's classic adaptation. During filming, he, too, made the decision to stop drinking and has remained sober ever since. In a piece on Tumblr, Flanagan explained how Doctor Sleep helped him confront and ultimately overcome alcoholism.
Doctor Sleep follows an older Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) who's traumatized by the events of his childhood at the Overlook Hotel and went down the same path of alcoholism as his father. As he tries to kick the habit and find peace as a hospice caretaker, he finds another in possession of the shining named Abra (Kyliegh Curran) and is pulled into a battle against a cult called The True Knot who look to feed off of those with the shining. As Flanagan notes, the original story is personal to King as the sequel to a story that drew upon his own substance abuse issues through Jack Torrance.
The director added, however, that he and the cast were uniquely prepared to tackle the film. McGregor kicked alcohol himself and much of the rest of the cast was sober while filming. One exception, Flanagan says, was himself:
When he (King) wrote Doctor Sleep, he was decades sober. The story of Doctor Sleep is the story of recovery. This was something that Ewan knew very well, and why he was perfect for the part. He knew what the journey felt like. He wasn't alone - there were a number of cast and crew members on this shoot that were sober. In fact, just about all of the actors who played main characters were sober. I was still drinking at the time, though it had already become obviously problematic in my life, I hadn't taken any meaningful steps to change it.
Flanagan wasn't a stranger to penning stories about addiction himself. Absentia, the director's festival darling, had themes of drug addiction weaved into its tale of grief and loss. The same is true of his first big Netflix hit series, The Haunting of Hill House, which saw Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) frequently relapsing into heroin addiction to cope with what happened at his family home in the past.
How Flanagan Ultimately Kicked Alcohol Thanks to Doctor Sleep
Again tasked with writing about addiction, he finally saw something in his own work that helped him process his own struggles. The scene between Danny and his late father at the bar where Danny pushes back against both his inner voice and the image of Jack was the key for Flanagan:
I vividly recall writing the scene between Dan and Jack at the bar. My wife pointed out to me after the fact that she could see it then, that something was changing in me when it came to drinking. Something was waking up, and I was processing a desperate need to sober up. That scene represents an internal conversation that is profoundly personal to me. It's still my favorite scene of the movie.
I've been sober now for over 4 years. Doctor Sleep helped me finally make that decision. I finished the shoot sober, and came home to my life with a lot of uncertainty and insecurity. But with the unflinching support of my incredible wife, and some amazing friends, my life started to really blossom. It was pretty immediately evident that this was one of the best decisions I'll ever make.
Doctor Sleep would go on to be a box office failure initially, but Flanagan said it was a worthwhile experience no matter what for finally getting him sober. His wife, Kate Siegel, was pregnant at the time with their daughter and, more than anything, he was happy to have a better relationship with his family, his friends, and movie making itself without alcohol in the mix. Now, he's one of the most acclaimed horror directors out there with The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Midnight Club, and his magnum opus, Midnight Mass, all becoming hits.
He recounted a conversation he had with King after Doctor Sleep to thank him for writing something that would ultimately help him find a way onto the road to recovery:
I reached out to King a year later, on my first sober birthday. I hadn't told him I was sober, but it felt like time to do it. I got to thank him. "I never told you this, but I sobered up while we were shooting DOCTOR SLEEP, and I don't think I would have done it without your words. Living in that story, and marinading in the concepts of recovery and redemption made it possible. I just want to thank you."
He wrote back his congratulations, and then mentioned "as it happens, I'm off to celebrate 30 years myself. It only gets better and better."
And he is absolutely right.
Doctor Sleep is available to stream on HBO Max. Check out the trailer below.