Flatliners (1990) - Yeah, pretty spooky

I watched 'Flatliners' back in the early nineties when it first came out then completely ignored the pointless 2017 remake and didn't watch it for almost thirty years.  I couldn't remember much about it, short of the basic premise of how a group of young medical students are experimenting with 'near death' experiences.  However, I think I actually enjoyed it more today than I did all that time ago.

Modern' horror seems to fall into one of the following categories: zombie film, slasher film, or one of those films where something spooky happens to a family and no one believes them until some CGI demon is staring them in the face.  Perhaps the reason I enjoyed 'Flatliners' is because it doesn't fit in to any of those supernatural sub-genres.  There is certainly a threat coming from some other world, but the characters need to establish exactly what it is on their own and it's not simply some monster than can be easily-banished with the help of an old priest and a young priest.

The cast is as good as it's going to get for 1990, mainly consisting of icons (of their day) such as Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon and an indeterminate Baldwin.  Now, they could all headline a film on their own, so getting them all together in one place definitely makes it a bit of an 'ensemble cast.' Also, they all get their own individual stories which allow us to get to know them a little better than some later movies with multiple stars (poor Oliver Platt really couldn't compete with that quartet and gets the rawest deal of on-screen time!).

I suppose the general look and feel seems a little dated now.  There's a hell of a lot of neon on display which, combined with the hair and costumes, really does pinpoint this film as a late eighties/early nineties offering.  You really don't realise how much fashion has changed until you watch 'Flatliners!' However, for all the neon and smoke bellowing up from unseen points in the floor (seriously, if you played some sort of 'drinking game' where you took a swig every time you saw a weirdly-placed plume of smoke, you'd be out of your head before the title card came on screen!), director Joel Schumacher does a very good job at creating a unique and creepy atmosphere.

If you're looking for a spooky movie to watch with friends that doesn't involve flesh-eating cannibals, torture p0rn or men in masks with chainsaws, then give this a go.  You should become immune for the huge haircuts after a while.  Yes, the 'logic' of what they're actually doing may seem a little questionable, but it was the eighties and we all played with near death experiences back then - trust me!

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that