Flatliners

Plot synopsis:
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.David then explains what is happening to him: he remembers the little girl that is appearing to him as a girl that he bullied in school named Winnie Hicks (Kimberly Scott). This prompts Joe to speak up about his experiences as well. David then prods Nelson to do the same. Nelson complies and identifies his assailant as Billy Mahoney (Joshua Rudoy), a kid he used to pick on, but his description of the injuries to his face get Randy's attention, as that cannot be mere hallucination. Randy argues that what the others have said is impossible, but Nelson replies that they have experienced death and are, therefore, in uncharted territory. Nelson asserts, "Somehow we brought our sins back physically,... and they're pissed." David and the others then chastise Nelson for not speaking up sooner, as that equated to an unethical withholding of findings.The team then moves on to dealing with what they have unleashed. After getting surrounded by ghosts of women using the same vacuous pickup lines on him that he used on them, Joe finds his fiancée Anne (Hope Davis) in his apartment. She reveals that she found his videotapes, and she is therefore leaving him; not for cheating on her, but for so cruelly violating the trust of so many women. Rachel is haunted by visions of her father, who committed suicide when she was five. Nelson attempts to confront Billy Mahoney head-on, only to be beaten down once again.David, trying a different approach, finds where the adult Winnie Hicks, now a mother and wife, is currently living, and, accompanied by Nelson, drives out to ask for her forgiveness, hoping it will resolve David's long-time guilt and make his hallucinations disappear. At first Winnie tries to be polite, but she reveals that she has tried to forget about what happened when they were children, and she does not appreciate David coming and reopening those wounds. David continues trying to apologize, but, realizing that he is now just making the situation worse, he leaves. As he is going, though, Winnie calls to him, and with a tear in her eye, says, "Thank you." While this is happening, Nelson, who was waiting in the car, is once more attacked by Billy Mahoney. When David arrives, all he sees is Nelson alone on the floor struggling, and he snaps a terrified Nelson out of it.When Nelson and David get back to town, Rachel, who saw another vision of her father in class, reveals to the others what is happening to her and sarcastically thanks Nelson for the "nightmare." An argument between the five then erupts. David finally calms everyone down and goes to take care of Rachel while instructing Joe and Randy to help Nelson find Billy Mahoney. David tries to console Rachel, and they eventually make love off-screen.Nelson takes Randy and Joe to a cemetery. It is explained, through a flashback, that Nelson accidentally killed Billy (and fatally injured his dog Champ at the same time) while bullying him in school. Nelson becomes angry, screaming at the tombstone, "I thought I paid my dues!" since Nelson's life was ruined after the incident, at which he was separated from his family. He then says that David is right, that he can still make amends. Nelson gets in the car and drives off alone. Joe and Randy, having been stranded by Nelson, call David. David rushes out to pick them up, and they figure out what Nelson's plan is.Meanwhile, Rachel, now alone, finally confronts her father and sees the truth of what happened when she was a child: though she blamed herself all these years for his death, he was actually addicted to heroin. Rachel and her father then have a tearful reconciliation which is interrupted when Nelson calls, apologizing for getting them all involved in the situation. He also admits to Rachel that he is going under one last time committing suicide by himself. Nelson rushes to the laboratory where the group has been conducting their experiments, injects himself with potassium, and dies. The others all show up moments later and try to resuscitate Nelson to no avail.Meanwhile, in the afterworld, Nelson appears, first young and then old, switching places with Billy Mahoney; being killed as Billy was knocked out of a tree. Finally, after twelve minutes, the team gives up and lets Nelson go. While talking over Nelson's dead body, Rachel says that Nelson told her on the phone that he thought he deserved to die. David angrily disagrees, saying Nelson was just a child who had made a mistake. David puts the defibrillator paddles to Nelson again, and in the afterworld, Nelson suddenly gets up and is faced by a now smiling Billy. He waves goodbye and walks off with Champ into the light as Nelson, hearing voices calling to him, runs the other way. Back on the table, the group has successfully brought Nelson back to life. Nelson then whispers in David's ear, "It wasn't such a good day to die," and thanks them.
NOTE: The film's depiction of cardiopulmonary resuscitation is commonly regarded as inaccurate. While defibrillation is of no use if a patient has truly flatlined, it is possible for a patient to be in ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and still be revived with use of paddles.(as per Wikipedia)

Tags: cruelty, alternate reality, haunting, flashback, psychedelic, revenge

Review:
It definitely is on my personal list of favorite movies, and for more than just starring Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon, two of my `actors to watch.'Perhaps I appreciate this film so much because it appeals to my slightly off-kilter taste in entertainment.
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.I will focus on just two examples; in an alley scene, a change in lighting allows for certain elements of the set to come dramatically into focus, then to fade away once lighting returns to normal.
It had all the necessary features of a good movie: the cast was superb, the plot was superb, and in the case of thrillers, there was genuine "thrills" throughout.Keifer Sutherland offered a marvelous performance as the male lead in the piece, portraying a scientist who believes he can find the answers to life and death by killing himself and then coming back to life, essentially "stealing" death's secrets away.
And Oliver Platt, in another outstanding performance, portrays the voice of reason for the group and the most innocent.The story is relatively simple, yet original, and the acting is refreshing-- definitely a stand out film for the genre, and one that has set the standard for measuring other thrillers for me.8/10..
The medical student Nelson Wright (Kiefer Sutherland) invites Joe Hurley (William Baldwin), David Labraccio (Kevin Bacon), Rachel Mannus (Julia Roberts) and Randy Steckle (Oliver Platt), who are friends from his class, to participate in a near death experiment where he will die for one minute to see whether there is afterlife or not.
What will happen to them?"Flatliners" is a suspenseful horror film directed by Joel Schumacher in 1990 with a great cast.
I am unsure about some of the comments here saying that a quality cast here was wasted - i disagree- the acting here was superb from all- i think this is the only time i didn't mind Julia Roberts, it was good to see 24's Kiefer Sutherland (Currently at the time of this review, serving a jail sentence for DUI), and Kevin Bacon sporting an interesting hair style.Overall- i liked the direction, the atmosphere, the acting, and the story line most of all- particularly the idea of karma, and , to quote Nelson Wright "Everything we does matters" So true.10/10!.
Flatliners has all the ingredients of a good Joel Schumacher film - intelligent, youthful characters, stunning cinematography, a gripping story, and excellent performances.
The close-up shots of the gargoyle statues in the campus buildings, Catholic frescoes in the walls, stop-motion cameras, and the dynamic camera speeds were all belong to Bont's skills.Flatliners became a cult movie in time with its sociological pen-portrait of the X-generation juvenile especially via its futuristic editing style with storyboard connection sequences like being part of a video music clip so much aesthetically.
A medical student named Nelson (Kiefer Sutherland) hatches a plan to explore death by briefly killing himself in a controlled environment then having his friends bring him back to life minutes later.
It's as if somewhere along the line the film was brought back from the dead, but with severe brain damage.One of the primary problems that director Joel Schumacher does not overcome is that these actors just do not seem like medical students, and the setting just doesn't seem like a medical school.
Given that, I have to say the film has merit, but it is certainly not the merit of a sound plot.The acting, however, is superb, and every cast member should be applauded for their ability to rise to the occasion in this somewhat palatable "horror" film.Kiefer's ability to maintain his character's persona is exceptional, breaking at just the right moment in the film.Julia Roberts certainly gives us a performance rivaling her work in previous films, as well as adding an interesting perspective to the idea of guilt and redemption.Kevin Bacon is the glue than binds this band together, with his ability to maintain the focus of the five on the problems they are facing.Oliver Platt provides an interesting sort of comic relief, and William Baldwin brings his boyish demeanor into play with his particular sin, although you have to wonder how that character ever got into medical school.The sets really give us the "horror" feeling, and you have to give Joel Schumacher his props for his camera angles and framing of the these spooky rooms and buildings.Rated R for violence, sexual references and scenes, and language, definitely not one for the younger set.
I am a Chicagoan, and the setting in Chicago was very identifiable and artistically expedited as well!!I liked this movie, and the agitation which motivated the climax in this picture was a powerful element to the plot which was utterly sensational!!"Flatliners" centers around a group of disgruntled pre-med students who want to be flat lined as a way of attaining some sort of societal vindication!!
It becomes somewhat of a competition between them to see who can stay dead the longest; but they soon discover that crossing over to the spirit world is not free of consequences.Joel Schumacher directs this quite stylish thriller and with a very fine cast of young and talented actors - Keifer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt and William Baldwin; we have a pretty fresh well made thriller, that is certainly worthy of your attention.6.5/10 it wasn't quite as good as i had been led to believe..
How wrong I was !Verdict: after 11 years my view on this film had changed from a very scary 1st class movie to total junk which overplays on the religious and supernatural side of things ratherly superficially.I have never been a big fan of Julia Roberts' acting (excepting for Erin Brockeridge in which she deserved her Oscar) I think the problem with this film definitely lies with the director and a so so mediocre script.
But stay sharp Gen X/Y'ers, because the dozens of disappointments dominating your trip down memory lane, might stop you from stumbling across one worth revisiting.One surprise film worth another look is Joel Schumacher's Flatliners, the supernatural thriller starring 80's popcorn heavyweights Keifer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts and Billy Baldwin.
This movie is everything I want a good thriller to be like, its intriguing, its gripping, and the plot and story is so interesting that it has left me still thinking about it the next day.
But due to poor writing and very mediocre direction by Schumacher (who, to his credit, at least has a very distinct directorial style - albeit an extremely flawed one) it's nothing more than a top-notch cast (consisting of long-time Schumacher collaborator Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt, William Baldwin and Kevin Bacon) wasted on material that isn't in the same league as they are.A huge disappointment..
Highly intense and interesting thriller which has five college students (Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon) trying to gain insights with near-death experiences.
This movie brings a fresh story line with a convincing cast including kiefer sutherland, kevin bacon and julia roberts.
First of all, "Flatlining" was his idea (and he lets us know it) but here comes David (Kevin Bacon), the "good guy", who sort of takes the control of the experiment (because everyone trust him more than Nelson) and falls in love with Rachel (Julia Roberts), the girl Nelson had a crush on.
Keen to see what happens to someone after they die, reckless medical student Nelson (Kiefer Sutherland) talks four of his friends (played by Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, and William Baldwin) into helping with a dangerous experiment on himself, first inducing brain death, followed by resuscitation after a minute on 'the other side'.
When the procedure is a success, the other students take it in turns to have a peep at the afterlife, not realising that when they return to life, they have brought their sins back to haunt them.As much as I like the cast of Flatliners (with the exception of Julia Roberts, who I find irritating) and admire director Joel Schumacher for his sterling work on The Lost Boys, Falling Down and 8MM, this film doesn't do an awful lot for me: it's the 90s equivalent of so much of the anodyne teen-centric horror-lite garbage that passes for scary these days, with a good looking young cast and lots of flashy visuals, but very little in the way of substance, fun or thrills.The first half of the film proves very repetitive, as four of the five students 'flatline', and experience a dreamlike afterlife; the second half sees the group suffering the consequences, which for three of the four, amounts to little more than a few colourful hallucinatory 'nightmares' that are easily resolved.
Notwithstanding all of that Flatliners is a good effective film because of the script, the direction which again is very surreal at times, and the acting which brings four very talented actors and William Baldwin together.
If you are a huge fan of The Lost Boys like me then I would suggest watching these two movies starring Kiefer Sutherland with your friends and have a good time and get thrilled.
One of the problems is that it seems like one person involved somewhere had some pretty interesting ideas about guilt and how we deal with the fact of hurting other people while another person involved thought that good things are what the Bible says and everything else is a sin and Bad. The extremely heavy themes of Christianity and the framework of sins that the characters keep coming back to don't really fit with the guilt and harm centered framework that the story seems to want to tell.
All of the final confrontations that the characters have to deal with their apparitions (well, not the pick up artist, but that was kind of a side plot anyway) are thematically interesting and I liked them; it just feels like the rest of the movie doesn't manage to built up to or support those scenes the way it needed to.At the end of the day, I don't know if I liked this movie, but I find myself really WANTING to like this movie despite itself, and I think that's worth 7 stars to me..
And Joel Schumacher has a style of filming great-looking actors in an ethereal glow, which literally fits here being they choose to die and come back again i.e. playing God with their own bodies...Taking place in and around various classrooms and backrooms of some kind of steely, dystopic medical school, the shadow-filled, icky-green sets seem as if a neon Gothic explosion blew out most of the lights and took down half the equipment, like Dr. Frankenstein's lab dreamed-up by Tim Burton.
But it turned out more like a glossy music video, especially the choppy extreme-closeups...While Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon and pretty pretty-boy William Baldwin obviously aren't unattractive (with token ugly guy Oliver Platt as a sarcastic Roman Chorus), the camera's so tight on both conversational and sporadic physical action, the audience is forced to feel about a movie that's ultimately more popcorn mainstream than the kind of meticulous inner-realm thriller it attempts to be...
Which is actually a compliment...Because FLATLINERS does have entertainment value: the resuscitating scenes are suspenseful and the reanimated flashbacks haunting these intentionally pretentious students are intriguing...But delving into earthly and mundane situations involving Keifer and Kevin's former grade school bullying; Julia's screwed-up father; and Baldwin's videotaped sexual conquests are as limited as those horror movies about ghosts who want nothing but that timeworn "closure" as opposed to being formidably evil beneath the surface.
A Mixing of Sci-fiction and horror styles this picture was made as an original idea, instead to give right answers which you didn't find it here,the director developed the plot without a propper adviser to share wth him according such interesting matters, in USA has today a plenty of studies post mortem or almost dead serious survey that could helped such production,nonetheless Joel Schumacher chose a shortcut as a simply entertainment only and became a death experience is a silly redemption cases of guilty.....simpleton approach about beyond the grave!!!Resume:First watch: 1994 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.
The story is more complex in the remake and the effects are incomparably better, but the actors and their performances can not be compared with the original cast, that includes Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin and Oliver Platt.
The dialog itself isn't anything that sounds extraordinarily special but the actors are what keeps the story interesting.The cast of actors who play these graduate students are Nelson (Kiefer Sutherland), Rachel (Julia Roberts), David (Kevin Bacon), Joe (William Baldwin) and Randy (Oliver Platt).
Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt Kiefer Sutherland are young medical students who decide to push the boundaries of medical science by inducing death and then getting revived which soon becomes a competition of how long they can flat line before being revived.
Joel Schumacher has directed some great movies like "Falling Down", one of my favourite movies "The Lost Boys" some over rated movies like "St Elmo's Fire" some awful movies like "Dying Young" and sadly he also directed George Clooney in "Batman & Robin".Plot In A Paragraph: Nelson Wright (Kiefer Sutherland), convinces four of his medical school classmates — Joe Hurley (William Baldwin), Dave Labraccio (Kevin Bacon), Randy Steckle (Oliver Platt) and Rachel Manus (Julia Roberts) — to help him discover what lies beyond death.
This is one of my favourite movies starring Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin and Oliver Platt.
The premise of the story is so superb and was ripe for a terrifying horror film, but Flatliners then, and now, is not terrifying, but that actually doesn't matter.In 1990 some of the more bright young acting prospects were off making Memphis Belle, the other half that was made up of potential Brat Packers like Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon, were joining director Joel Schumacher for this delve into life after death experiments.
Joel Schumacher directed this yarn about five medical school students(played by Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, and Julia Roberts) who repeatedly undergo near-death experiences by having their hearts stopped, then revived.
Back when Joel Schumacher was still making good movies (that is, before he got into "Batman and Robin" and such things), he directed the eerie "Flatliners", about medical students conducting experiments in which they make each other temporarily dead.
Other cast members include Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt and Hope Davis (in her debut).All in all, you may be nervous about conducting any kind of experiment after watching this movie.
Then the story unfold into a resolution and basic understanding about life and the presence and meaning of God. David Labraccio played by Kevin Bacon an atheist end up questioning his own belief about God. It's amazing to watch Julia Roberts along with Kevin Bacon, Oliver platt, William baldwin and Kiefer Sutherland at such a prime time of their careers.
Another good change.The idea and plot line caught me straight away as i think about these things a lot and its very psychological, but then again it can be freaky after the death experiences.It has a lot of secret depth in this film if you look hard enough.
A group of medical students purposely flat-line themselves to receive and near-death experience but are haunted by nightmarish visions afterwords.This movie includes a stellar cast with Keifer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, and William Baldwin but failed to include effective performances from the actors.
However, it remains an interesting and very enjoyable thriller, thanks in large part to a well assembled cast.The story is that of five medical students, Nelson (Sutherland), Rachel (Julia Roberts), David (Kevin Bacon), Joe (William Baldwin) and Randy (Oliver Platt), who get together one night to carry out a crazy experiment: Nelson wants to flat-line so that he can find out, once and for all, if there really is an afterlife, and the others are there to make sure he comes back from the dead.
2nd movie in my Kiefer Sutherland movie marathon.This movie is great and this movies about how some medical students experimented with death and each of them start to have weird visions from there childhood.There is an all star cast in this movie with great actors and actress like my favorite actor Kiefer Sutherland,Kevin Bacon who is great in this movie,Julia Roberts,Oliver Platt and William Baldwin.Over all this movie is great and Kiefer Sutherland acted so well in this movie and if u liked Kiefer in this movie u should watch one of his other great movies like the lost boys.My rating for this movie is seven out of ten..
As well as Joe, William Baldwin,who betrayed and in the case of Rachel, Julia Roberts, drove to their death.A secret experiment was dreamed up by Nelson and his fellow medical students to see if there's really a life beyond the grave.
Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt and William Baldwin are the stars of this great movie!
Somehow he convinces four other med students, Joe Hurley (William Baldwin), David Labraccio (Kevin Bacon), Rachel Mannus (Julia Roberts), and Randy Steckle (Oliver Platt) to help him out.Problem number one is that I don't think director Joel Schumacher sold this shaky premise sufficiently.
A medical student (Kiefer Sutherland) convinces four other students ( Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt and William Baldwin) to help him with a experiment, to shut down his heart for a short time to experience death.