Flatliners

Directed by Niels Arden Oplev, Flatliners is a remake of (or technically sequel to) the 1990 cult horror film of the same name. It stars Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons, and Kiefer Sutherland.

In Flatliners, five medical students, obsessed by the mystery of what lies beyond the confines of life, embark on a daring and dangerous experiment: by stopping their hearts for short periods of time, each triggers a near-death experience – giving them a firsthand account of the afterlife.  But as their experiments become increasingly perilous, they are each haunted by the sins of their pasts, brought on by the paranormal consequences of trespassing to the other side.

Writer Ben Ripley was keen to update the film for today’s world. “I was in college when the original film came out and I remember thinking it had a very smart premise, so I was intrigued by the idea of a remake. Because the elements were all there – the universal appeal of inquiring into the afterlife, the themes of atonement and redemption – I had the luxury of being able to import a structure that was totally solid. What I did do was update the science, the technology and make the cast much more diverse and competitive, keeping in line with medical schools today.”

Flatliners is rated 14A.