Retrospective Film Review

Flatliners (1990) • 30 Years Later

Five medical students experiment with “near-death” experiences until the dark consequences of past tragedies jeopardise their lives.

If you like Halloween Goth, Flatliners is a film you’ll enjoy. It’s 30 years old but still has a concept and style that appeals. It’s an exploration of man’s hubris, how arrogance and knowledge can only take you a certain way and at some point, you need to take a leap of faith. Its subject matter is Near-Death Experiences (NEDs) which remain sensitive, controversial, and subject to investigation. (A scientific paper on NDEs was published only last year.) It’s also about friendship and competition between ambitious young medics which, as we know from the success of TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy, is always a winner.

Peter Filardi’s screenplay was inspired by the near-death experience of a friend undergoing medical treatment. These events seem to contain certain common elements: life flashing before your eyes, a tunnel with a bright light at the far end, a sense of bliss and being ‘at one’ with the universe…