Flatliners is a Sci-Fi horror sequel to the 1990 film of the same name. Starring Ellen Page (X-Men, Juno), Diego Luna (Rogue One, Scarface), and Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries), the film follows a team of medical students who begin experimenting on one another to experience the afterlife. After the experiments begin to improve their lives they begin a race to see who can last the longest in a “dead” state. But it appears that the experiment is not completely without catches as the afterlife visions begin to follow them into reality.
Flatliners (1990) was originally directed by Joel Schumacher and starred Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, and Kevin Bacon. While first pegged as a reboot, Kiefer Sutherland said he would be reprising his role as Dr. Nelson Wright outing it as a sequel. The two films appear that they will follow similar plot structure, so you have to wonder what twists Niels Arden Oplev has in store to keep the new plot fresh and innovative over the original. Although one has to have faith in the Danish director whose award-winning Swedish adaptation of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was critically acclaimed and paved the way for the American version of the film. The film has a feeling of a cross between Limitless and Insidious in where the characters achieve extraordinary powers but must pay the price for those abilities, and the price just so happens to be malevolent beings following you back into the real world.
The mix of science and paranormal is always an interesting one, and it will be exciting to see the cross section of the genres here. Great actors and an award winning director have the chance to carry this film to be a winner at the box office. Flatliners opens up in theaters September 27th later this year.