Flatliners

Medical students bring themselves near death; their experiment begins to go awry.

• Director:Joel Schumacher
• Genre:Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
• Runtime:114 minutes

Cast

Kiefer Sutherland: Nelson
Julia Roberts : Dr. Rachel Mannus
Kevin Bacon : David Labraccio
William Baldwin: Dr. Joe Hurley
Oliver Platt : Randy Steckle

The movie opens with a shot of Nelson (Kiefer Sutherland), a medical student, saying, “Today is a good day to die.” The movie then moves on to explain this statement as Nelson tries to convince Joe Hurley (William Baldwin), David Labraccio (Kevin Bacon), Randy Steckle (Oliver Platt), and Rachel Manus (Julia Roberts), four of his classmates, to help him conduct a dangerous experiment: Nelson wishes to experience clinical death for one minute before being brought back to life by emergency measures, saying he wants to see if there is anything beyond death. Nelson’s classmates are extremely apprehensive about the idea, but after much arguing, the five students decide to go ahead with the experiment. Nelson is then “flatlined,” and his experience in the “afterlife” is interspersed on-screen with his classmates’ attempts to bring him back to life. Despite some difficulty, they are able to successfully resuscitate him. Describing later what he felt, Nelson says, “You can’t break it down into specifics, but there is something there. It’s comforting.”

The success of the experiment prompts the others to do the same, each for their own reasons. Joe goes next, looking for little more than fame, and agrees with Nelson that there is post-death activity. David then argues that, as the atheist in the group and the experiment’s control, he should go next. After David also experiences things that he cannot ascribe to his previous scientific viewpoint, Rachel insists on being the next one to be put under.

Almost immediately after each experiment, however, each participant starts to experience strange phenomena. Nelson sees his injured dog Champ and a little boy, who quickly progress from just appearing before him to stalking and assaulting him. Joe, an out of control playboy despite being engaged, starts seeing visions in TV sets of women whom he secretly videotaped while having sex with them. On a subway train, David suddenly sees a little girl who calls his name, insults him with schoolyard taunts, and then disappears. Nelson and Joe remain silent about what has happened to them, but during Rachel’s experiment, David speaks up about his strange experiences. Eventually, he convinces the others to abort Rachel’s experiment, but an electrical short almost prevents them from bringing her back. Read more

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