Flatliners

A 2017 movie about medical students being haunted by past transgressions that is in and of itself haunted by Joel Schumacher’s past film transgressions from 1990! Courtney Holmes (Ellen Page) has this quirky feeling that brain activity continues beyond the grave and convinces four other medical students to join her in stopping her beating heart for an allotted amount of time before reviving her. Most all of the tension revolves around Kiersey Clemons, James Norton and Nina Dobrev fumbling their roles during these revival meetings as they each take a turn in cheating death. In fact, the best developed character in the cast is played by Diego Luna who refuses to visit the other side – whatever happened to holding ones breath and counting telephone poles until you pass out to experience death-like symptoms? From an opening act based on a Carnival Of Souls-inspired tragedy that gets reduced and replaced by Final Destination predicaments, this is a miniscule melodrama with a preponderance of paranormal activity which could just as easily be credited to the mental strain of learning the Merck’s manual.

[PG-13]