Flatliners (1990)

Nominated for 1 Academy Award:

Best Sound Editing

 

Flatliners is a thriller that starts with a good idea, but doesn’t develop enough on the mystery and the horror. It benefits from having a cast of young promising actors (Julia, Kiefer, Kevin Bacon…) and none of them is bad, and they do actually bring some energy and vitality. But even so, the screenplay is filled with clichés and it doesn’t deliver on its own premise, of treating the afterlife and the near-death experience with seriousness and a scientific approach.

What it does become is a semi-fantasy, semi-horror flick that is not scary, and the traumatic experiences of each character feel randomly picked and unsatisfying. It needed better writing, better directing.

 

I give it: 5.5/10

IMDB LINK