Starring Ellen Page, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev

Directed by Niels Arden Oplev

Sony Entertainment, out 5 February  

‘You Haven’t Lived Until You’ve Died!’

People of a certain age – myself included – remember the original 1990 Flatliners very fondly. Directed by Joel Schumacher and starring the likes of Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon and Julia Roberts, it wore its gothic tropes proudly on its sleeve and has justifiably earned the status of a cult classic. Following the recent trend of remaking movies like these, the new Flatliners brings the central idea of wanting to know what happens after we die slap-bang up to date. But does that make it a better movie?

Since the death of her sister, medical student Courtney (Ellen Page) has become obsessed with trying to find out what lies beyond the veil. She ropes in fellow student doctors, playboy Jamie (flavour of the month and hotly-tipped future Bond, James Norton) and Sophie (Transparent’s Kiersey Clemons) to help with her experiments, down in a basement lab at the hospital. After killing her and successfully bringing her back, though only with the help of Ray (Rogue One’s Diego Luna), Courtney reports on her Out of Body Event and feels more alive than ever. Naturally, this makes Jamie and Sophie want to have a go, plus newcomer Marlo (Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev) who caught them in the act.

One by one they go through the experience, but each medic sees different things. At first the rush gives them a tremendous post-resurrection high – they spend a lot of time partying – but eventually they begin to see things in the waking world as well. Visions that haunt them, reminding them of past mistakes or even attacking them. Are they just hallucinations or something else? If they don’t get to the bottom of the mystery then all of them will wind up dead…permanently.

We’re told time and again on the four featurettes included that this is a ‘more scientific’ and ‘grounded’ version of Flatliners. And while that might be true, it also gives the whole thing a vaguely cold and clinical feel. Not even Kiefer himself cropping up in a small role as Dr Wolfson helps with this. Whereas the original was a fun romp of a horror flick, this takes itself very seriously indeed and suffers for it. The cast are very good in their roles, as you’d expect from the calibre of Page and co., and even some of the characters are likeable (Norton’s hedonistic Jamie is a standout for me, especially delivering deadpan lines like: ‘And now I’m going to kill you!’). But for some reason the chemistry just isn’t there between them.

It also doesn’t help that when the visions turn ugly, this film takes a detour into Ring and Grudge territory – as if it can’t quite decide whether it wants to be a thriller or a ghostly revenge flick. That said, this is an enjoyable enough watch if you’re at a loose end and many of today’s audience (the cast included, who had to go off and find the original to watch) won’t have seen the 1990s version to compare it to… sadly.

The aforementioned featurettes are all quite short but do give an insight into the filmmaking process and approach. In the end, though, this one lacks the charm of its predecessor and just falls a little flat.

Verdict: It’s a great day to die!   6/10   

Paul Kane