Five medical students experiment with "near death" experiences, until the dark consequences of past tragedies begin to jeopardize their lives. I saw the remake of this last year and it was absolutely horrible and since most of the time the original is always the best i wanted to see this movie and judge it on my own plus i was expecting something big and haunting. Unfortunately Flatliners is a 90's flick where teenagers have a death wish or something and nearly die and come back to life and this happens for the entire film and in the end turns kinda boring. (0/10)

Five medical students, Nelson Wright, Rachel Mannus, David Labraccio, Joe Hurley and Randy Steckle are fascinated by death; more specifically what happens when one dies. Nelson manages to persuade them to help him with a dangerous experiment; he wasn't them to cause his clinical death then bring him back. After he returns others are eager to go next. The problem is Nelson hasn't told them about what happened after be returned; he has been tormented and even physically attacked by an apparition of a young boy he seriously wronged as a child. As the others follow Nelson by experiencing death they too are taunted by people they believe they have wronged. Dave decides that he must seek out the woman he wronged as a child and apologise. He suggests the others do the same… something that isn't easy if that person died because of you.This is a decent psychological horror even if its central premise is rather flawed; why would these students' near death experiences be considered scientifically more relevant that all the other people who have reported such phenomena? If one can get past that there are plenty of good scary moments; most notably when Nelson and David are tormented by the children they wronged… there is just something disturbing about a child genuinely terrifying an adult. The cast does a fine job; most notably Kiefer Sutherland; who nicely captures the arrogance then terror of Nelson. Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon also impress as Rachel, Joe, Steckle and David respectively. Each time one of them undergoes a near death experience there is the feeling that perhaps this is the time they won't come back… each time they stay dead longer and are harder to bring back. The setting is dark and Gothic which adds to the creepy atmosphere. Overall I'd say this is good enough but isn't really a must see unless you are a fan of one or more of the main cast.

As probably the last person (and certainly the last sci-fi-loving person) in the world to see "Flatliners", I am compelled to conclude, not merely that this film has failed to age well, but also that it may never have been that great. And this despite what seems from today's perspective a stellar cast.Put simply, it was hardly worth waiting all this time for.While the makers do eventually pull together a more or less coherent explanation for what happens to young student-doctors so cocksure that they think they can play about with death itself, this understanding is a long time coming, and on the way we get rather few scares, precious little enlightenment, a dubious artistic/aesthetic experience, and not much fun of any kind. To cap that, when we finally do gain insight, that moderately satisfying near-end moment is followed by a cheesefest of a very ending.Much of the film has a melodramatic, mad-scientist, Frankenstein look about it, which might be OK, were it not sandwiched between slices of ordinary medical-student life that seem to take us nowhere at all, despite the fact that they obviously need to be present - these are real people after all, aren't they? Aren't they? Certainly we need to philosophise about life after death and so on, but that needs to be put in the hands of believable characters that we care about. Kevin Bacon's character David comes closest to this, and it's nice to seem him here as the second-least villainous and wrong-headed of the protagonists (after Oliver Platt as Randy Steckle, who does the job well-enough then, as now ... which may not be exactly a compliment to his career, if one really thinks about it).The principal flaw (doubtless more so when seen from today looking back) is that makers and cast alike were probably too convinced they were on to a groundbreaking winner, and it made them lazy.Individuals within this small group of people are prepared to have their colleagues electric-shock and drug them into death for several minutes, also leaving the revival process entirely in their hands. And yet, when they come round, they are totally secretive about what they experience subsequently. Question: in what possible circumstance does that ring true? Answer: in none! Beyond that, we have some almost absurdly grandiose Chicago settings in which all of the study, the crazy experimentation and even the residing takes place (given the absolutely palatial surroundings in which some of our young medicos live). What seems impressive for the first 10 minutes later becomes oppressive and then simply ludicrous. Buildings subject to renovation are not guarded, and are accessible, not only to our interloping "heroes", but also to crowds of Halloween-partying students. Hadn't Health and Safety been invented in 1990? And Chicago seems to have shifted up to the North Pole, since in October there are so many hours of darkness that it hardly ever seems to get light! Thus, much as one would like to present "Flatliners" as a golden oldie, pioneer trendsetter and launchpad for some pretty good acting talent, it doesn't really come over that way for a new viewer in 2016.

Flatliners is a remarkably audacious, wildly original exploration of one of the taboo topics of science and religion. As far as direction, acting and suspense are concerned, few films rival Flatliners in its all-around splendor. Underneath a deceptively linear and seemingly simplistic script, there is much symbolism and underlying subtlety to be found in Schumacher's brilliant vision. This is without doubt an intriguing premise and the movie does well to focus on the horrific hallucinations that the group experience rather than on the religious connotations.Yeah, there are some medical and technical aspects that do not make logical sense, but if you are willing to suspend disbelief just a tad, this can be a very engaging film. First, a note about the artistic quality of the movie. Some have complained about the murky lighting, and the illogical nature of the sets - but for me, the use of innovating lighting techniques, the plastic and sheet draped sets, the unusual settings in old buildings and dank, dripping tunnels, the use of statuary, rain and billowing curtains - all add a poetic flavor to this film, a haunting beauty that suits the dark nature of the questions being asked about life, death and forgiveness.However, this could have been done better, and there are several holes in its plot such as the innocence of children and whether they really deserve to be haunted by what they did when they were younger. Plus the fantastic cast can all be remembered in better roles, especially Kevin Bacon, who is outstanding with whatever role he's given. Still, 'Flatliners' is entertaining enough when it resides in horror, and if it's placed in this genre then it's relatively intelligent.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.