The premise--a group of medical students resolve to, effectively, kill and then rescusitate each other in order to research the afterlife. Let's face it, this is a very fascinating premise for a movie, brilliant even, but unfortunately the rest of the movie does not live up to expectations.
There are so many issues here that are raised quite early in the film. The ethics of doing something like this, for example. The nature of death and the existence of an afterlife. God, even. But FLATLINERS, as if it was too afraid of the questions it was asking, abandons ship and opts for a run-of-the-mill supernatural thriller plot instead.
Don't get me wrong--as supernatural thrillers go, it's pretty skillful. The med school where most of the movie takes place is wondefully creepy, as are most of the settings and art direction for the rest of the film. However, because of the intriguing setup, most viewers will be left cold--the film just doesn't deliver on its promises.
Another fatal flaw is the repetition of the rescusiation scenes. This was suspenseful the first time, but each subsequent time it loses a lot of its punch. To combat this, the screenwriters jack up the risk a litle bit every time, nudging our heroes closer and closer to death. Unfortunately, it doesn't work.
This one's not worth it, but I would like to see a remake. One that's a little more intelligent, perhaps?
There are so many issues here that are raised quite early in the film. The ethics of doing something like this, for example. The nature of death and the existence of an afterlife. God, even. But FLATLINERS, as if it was too afraid of the questions it was asking, abandons ship and opts for a run-of-the-mill supernatural thriller plot instead.
Don't get me wrong--as supernatural thrillers go, it's pretty skillful. The med school where most of the movie takes place is wondefully creepy, as are most of the settings and art direction for the rest of the film. However, because of the intriguing setup, most viewers will be left cold--the film just doesn't deliver on its promises.
Another fatal flaw is the repetition of the rescusiation scenes. This was suspenseful the first time, but each subsequent time it loses a lot of its punch. To combat this, the screenwriters jack up the risk a litle bit every time, nudging our heroes closer and closer to death. Unfortunately, it doesn't work.
This one's not worth it, but I would like to see a remake. One that's a little more intelligent, perhaps?