Flatliners

You are not supposed to interfere in the Lord’s work, but you can make films about it, and Joel Schumacher is very good at it. Though I admit that the screenplay is a bit naive, the imaginative direction and the performances more than make up for it. (13/01/2003)

It’s almost incredible how it’s possible to make such an uninteresting film from such an interesting topic. You can feel a certain potential throughout, but there’s something that relentlessly pulls the film down to averagedom and I’m not sure what it is. Maybe it’s the dialogues – they are so stupid, the classic nonsense that anyone could come up with if they were tasked with writing a ghost story – or the very unlikeable characters. That also surprised me, in fact, how is it possible that some of my favourite actors (at least Kevin Bacon) feel so awfully unlikeable here? I don’t know, it’s just so bland overall, but I can’t say it’s downright bad. 65% (03/05/2009)

I don’t know what to think about Joel Schumacher’s movies. One is absolutely amazing, then the next one is a completely crazy psychedelia. The original idea of this film is so great that I didn’t expect how bad it would turn out. The concept of madness has a new name, and it is the title of this movie – Flatliners. (06/05/2015)

Joel Schumacher is not able to bring any imagination and creativity to such an interesting topic as the afterlife, and as a result, the whole film stays completely grounded for 115 minutes and, apart from a few lightly horror and bloody scenes (a hockey stick to the face, a pickaxe to the face), there is nothing that would shock or impress. The screenplay is simple and the topic of the afterlife is only briefly outlined because they have to. The most interesting part is the cast, or rather their names, there are indeed many stars, but they are far from necessary, as there is nothing to work with. (26/10/2007)

An interesting premise with a pretty decent execution. The script is not brilliant and it starts slowly and awkwardly, but everything is balanced by very likeable actors and, in particular, a great second half. This is when the chilling atmosphere finally comes into full force and the director masterfully plays with the characters, who are subjected to very tense and interesting transformations. Overall, I'm satisfied, but it desperately lacks an idea or a twist that could push this thriller to a higher level in the genre. (27/08/2011)

A horrific fable in the embrace of Schumacherian visual opulence that salvages what it can from a barren script. The imagined world in which "religion has failed and philosophy has failed" and which is pervaded by emptiness, decadence, decay, and resignation can only be saved, according to the film, by overcoming the limits of self and knowledge. The November gloom, with all the daytime shots filmed either in the morning or evening, the interiors resembling empty temples (including the characters' apartments), and the side streets filled with dealers, prostitutes, and illegal abortions contrasting with the depopulated main streets – all reminiscent of the fatigue of the decade of 1980s hedonism from which Schumacher had benefited so much in his previous films. The decade in which Filardi wrote the screenplay for Flatliners, and so in the end the story is about young students challenging death in their own arrogance, which pays off in the end because it gives them therapy that can be solved by saying sorry to the girl you called a cunt twenty years ago. Mm, I don't know. (27/12/2019)

Flatliners has charm, and while you'll tell yourself that it's definitely not primarily a horror film, you'll feel very uncomfortable while watching some of the scenes. Joel Schumacher tends to ride a line that's more thriller-like, with even stronger personal contributions from each character, where their pasts and their fears and joys are the basis for being very scared themselves. (26/04/2018)