Movie Review: Flatliners

A GOOD horror movie is built on a premise that is based on real-world concerns.
This remake of a cult favourite 1990 film, however, is a horror movie that is a precautionary tale for millennials.
Courtney (Page) convinces two of her fellow medical students to stop her heartbeat for 60 seconds while scanning her brain for activities at the same time.
All this is done in secret, under the guise of research on life after death. Soon after, two more medical students, Ray (Luna) and Marlo (Dobrev) get involved.
The experiments leave Courtney with three side effects: euphoria, heightened intelligence ... and guilt, which manifests as murderous haunting hallucinations.
Of course, Courtney does not share the negative results of the experiment with her friends, and they all clamour to experience death for themselves and gain an advantage in medical school.
All except Ray, the smart one.
Page and Luna's performances are the most notable among the main cast; they are after all the most experienced actors of the bunch.
There are lessons to be learnt in this movie, such as do not text and drive, and take responsibilities for your actions.
'Flatlining' is a euphemism for drugs in this movie, but the consequences are quickly dealt with, making the lessons trivial.
The rules of the horror haunting the four students who flatline are never defined, so there is no dread. The movie relies heavily on jump scares, and not enough on building tension, which makes the scary part fall flat.
Ray is the voice of reason for the audience, and the reason why I find this movie entertaining.
He is brought into the team because he is the only high-achieving student of the bunch, and the only person who makes any sense.
Fans of the 1990 movie will be treated to a cameo by Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Dr Barry Wolfson in the original.
You need not have seen the first movie to appreciate this one, although it's obvious that the original is the better movie.