Flatliners (1990/2017)

FLATLINERS (15)

D: Joel Schumacher

Columbia Tristar/Stonebridge (Michael Douglas & Rick Bieber)

USA 🇺🇸 1990

114 mins

Thriller/Horror

W: Peter Filardi

DP: Jan de Bont

Ed: Robert Brown

Mus: James Newton Howard

Kiefer Sutherland (Nelson Wright), Julia Roberts (Rachel Manus), Kevin Bacon (Dave Labraccio), William Baldwin (Joe Hurley), Oliver Platt (Randy Steckle)

A great idea, let down by erratic execution and an incredibly poor ending.

A group of medical students experiment to discover if there is, in fact, life after death, by stopping their hearts until they 'flatline' and then being brought back to life, but each of them after being resurrected become haunted by sins they've committed in the past.

The most interesting thing about Flatliners is how each character fights the ghosts from their pasts and try to find some atonement for their misdeeds, which include Kevin Bacon's character's racist bullying of a black girl during his childhood, William Baldwin's videotaping sexual liaisons with a number of women and Kiefer Sutherland's chilling murder of a young boy, which becomes the centrepiece of the chilling stories.

Conceptually, this is a very good film, but Joel Schumacher's rushed direction delivers a lack of any real atmosphere and leaves the film littered with plenty of mistakes.

6/10

FLATLINERS (15)

D: Niels Arden Oplev

Sony/Columbia/Cross Creek/Further (Laurence Mark, Michael Douglas & Peter Safran)

USA 🇺🇸 2017

110 mins

Thriller/Horror

W: Ben Ripley [based on the screenplay by Peter Filardi]

DP: Eric Kress

Ed: Tom Elkins

Mus: Nathan Barr

Ellen Page (Dr. Courtney Holmes), Diego Luna (Ray), Nina Dobrev (Marlo), James Norton (Jamie), Kiersey Clemons (Dr. Sophia Manning), Kiefer Sutherland (Dr. Barry Wolfson)

A remake of the 1990 film which nobody was clamouring for, but the film executives at Sony don't give a fuck about that so long as they can make a buck or two back from a minimum outlay.

The plot is much the same, a group of medical students experiment with near death experiences and bring demons back from the other side with them, although, following the experiments in this film, they mostly act like young students without a care in the world, because this remake is for the YOLO generation. This is the film's biggest flaw. The characters don't act like medical professionals, they just act like spoilt teenagers who can do whatever the fuck they want without consequence.

The 1990 movie wasn't without its flaws, but it was atmospherically effective and built the tension incredibly well. This remake lacks both, and for the most part, it's mind-numbingly boring. Watch the original instead, do not resuscitate this one.

3/10