Doctor Sleep (2019)

Starring: Merry and Skyler

Directed by: Mike Flanagan

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: The sequel to The Shining by Stephen King finds Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) struggling with demons both past and present, as well as new monsters who threaten a little girl with special abilities.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Dan gets a job in a nursing home as a janitor at night. The home’s resident cat is a ragdoll named Azrael (Azrael is another name for the Angel of Death). Dan calls the cat Azzy for short.

Doctor Sleep - Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat in corridor

Dan notices Azzy going to a particular door. He tells the cat not to bother the patient but Azzy goes inside anyway.

Doctor Sleep - Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat outside door in corridor

When Dan reaches the room, Azzy is lying on the elderly man’s bed. Dan walks in to get the cat.

Doctor Sleep - Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat on elderly man's bed

Doctor Sleep - Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat on elderly man's bed with Dan Ewan McGregor

The man stops Dan and says he knows he is going to die because the cat always seems to know and visits the beds of those close to death. Dan sits down with the man and comforts him. The patient calls him Doctor Sleep. Both of them stay with the man as he passes.

Doctor Sleep - Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat on bed

Years later Azzy is on the bed of another man. Dan is with him and again they comfort the man as he dies.

Doctor Sleep - older Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat on bed

Doctor Sleep - older Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat on elderly man's bed with Dan Ewan McGregor

In a later scene, Dan is sitting at a desk when Azzy jumps up by him. Dan pets the cat.

Doctor Sleep - older Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat on desk with Dan Ewan McGregor

Doctor Sleep - older Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat on desk petted by Dan Ewan McGregor

Azzy then jumps down and moves to a room down the hall. Dan says the cat is off because the room is empty. Azzy goes inside anyway. Dan follows and gets a surprise when he enters the room.

Doctor Sleep - older Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat leaving desk with Dan Ewan McGregor

Doctor Sleep - older Azrael Azzy Bonkers long-haired Siamese mix cat in corridor

The cat actor who played Azrael as a kitten was played by cat actor Merry while the older Azreal was performed by cat actor Skyler. Their handler was Greg Tresan of Animal Casting Atlanta. Some interviews online with the actors from the film indicate the cat actor was named Bonkers, but this seems to be connected with the writing of the score for the film and not the name of the cat performer.