When I first saw the trailer to the 2017 remake of Peter Filardi’s 1990 film Flatliners I had to watch it. Unlike the usual action films/thrillers we frequently see on screen with their back to back combat scenes and somewhat basic plot lines, this film draws upon something which humanity has been fixated on for centuries; the afterlife.
Psychological sci-fi film Flatliners follows Courtney (played by Ellen Page) a medical student who has been obsessed with after death experiences since her sister was killed in a tragic car crash which she largely blames herself for. She then involves 4 other medical students (including The Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev) in her experiment to stop her heart and ‘experience death’ for a few minutes whilst tracking her brain activity in a CT scanner, before shortly being brought back to life. The medical students all take turns in stopping their hearts temporarily, and we are shown a glimpse of what each individual experiences in the ‘afterlife’.
Everything seems to be going great for the flatliners, they seem more intelligent, care free and generally better people after experiencing death. However shortly after their experiences they find themselves caught up with the paranormal, haunted by their past sins and mistakes, and Flatliners takes the form of a horror movie with disturbing and graphic scenes.
I enjoyed the concept of Flatliners at the beginning due to its fast paced nature. Additionally the film keeps you on your toes throughout with the various risks of the experiment and the anticipation of whether or not the patient will resurrect from their ‘death’. However I feel like the ending certainly does fall flat, as the quick resolution of apologising for your sins to make the paranormal haunting stop seems a slightly basic ending that lacks imagination and doesn’t do the rest of the film justice.
Despite this it can be said that this modern version of Flatliners is definitely an improvement on the 90’s version starring Julia Roberts, where lack of special effects technology at the time largely lead to bad reviews and a general lack of excitement.
Overall I would recommend watching Flatliners as it is something different and contains some interesting reflections about life after death, and definitely keeps you captivated.
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