The upcoming American horror movie Doctor Sleep is set to premiere on 8 November this year. The film is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name that came out in 2013. The book is a sequel of King’s popular 1977 novel The Shining.

Directed, written and edited by Mike Flanagan, Doctor Sleep will have a combination of elements taken from 1980 The Shining movie and the 1977 novel. The movie stars Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson and Kyliegh Curran.

The story revolves around Dan Torrance (McGregor) who has psychic abilities called “the shine” while struggling with alcoholism and the scars of a childhood trauma.

A teenager named Abra (Curran) who also possesses a similar gift seeks him out for help against Rose the Hat and the followers of her cult called The True Knot that feeds off children with their psychic powers. As a result, Dan has to face his fears with his “shine” to help save Abra.

Sounds like the film will be touching on childhood trauma and its effects, so perhaps there’s both psychological and physical horror elements. The trailer doesn’t give the full extent of how horrifying the film could be, in fact it’s a little tame. And this worries fans into thinking that the film might be toned down.

But great news, everyone! Flanagan has just confirmed that the MPAA has given its official rating for Doctor Sleep.

“Doctor Sleep has officially been rated R by the MPAA for ‘disturbing and violent content, some bloody images, language, nudity, and drug use.’ Sounds about right…” Flanagan wrote on his Twitter.

With this official stamp of approval, fans are now pleased and can look forward to a horror movie the way it is intended.

Danny Lloyd, the actor who played young Danny Torrance, gave his compliments on the movie. He told The Hollywood Reporter that it “looked really good”.

“I was curious since there is a fine line they have to walk with Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick. It looks like they found a way to pay tribute to both.”

Even Stephen King is impressed, saying that the movie will “blow your mind”. This is saying a lot since he was reportedly not a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining film.

Doctor Sleep comes out on 8 November 2019.