Flatliners is a movie that was originally released in 1990, but has been “reimagined” as said by star Nina Dobrev, into the new 2017 version. The movie centers around surgical residents who take an interest in what happens to your brain in the afterlife. My main motivation to see this movie was originally to see my idol Nina Dobrev, but as the movie went on, I found myself clinging to my seat as every thrill and dead silent scene had me almost jump out of my skin.

The idea of flatlining is first introduced by Courtney Holmes, portrayed by Ellen Page, whose sister died years before she went into med school. Obsessed with building a better understanding of what her sister went through, Courtney pressures her colleagues into going behind their advisor and the hospital’s rules and regulations in order to stop her heart for a minute and then revive her before too much brain damage occurs. Interested yet scared, her friends follow through and Courtney experiences the afterlife for one minute and then is pulled back into reality in order to describe her experience and clear up misconceptions. There was no white light, it was “pure energy,” and there were no relatives from the dead to greet her. What shocks her colleagues even further is the fact that she is able to contact memories from years past and remember vividly how to do things she has forgotten. She gains access to a whole different part of her brain where she is able to recall information faster, and the academic advantage lures her friends into the messy science of flatlining. Characters Jamie, Marlo, and Sophia all go against their colleague Ray’s disapproval and flatline in order to get a deeper understanding of what happens with the brain after you die. Ray’s disapproval still ties him to the experiment as he is the one to resuscitate his friends and make sure that they handle everything well. From what seemed to be a miraculous experiment, turns awry as the characters are each tormented by their sins which formulate into a series of hallucinations. The gang spends half of the movie actually flatlining and the other half trying to figure out what happened to them and why they are hallucinating.

Plot: 4/5

I must admit, the trailer didn’t really excite me. As mentioned before, the main reason I wanted to see Flatliners was to see Nina Dobrev, but as the movie went on I grew more and more interested. Personally, I don’t prefer movies about the dead and afterlife, so I tend to stay away from those movies. I went into this movie thinking that it wouldn’t be scary and it would focus more on the brain activity, but the plot shifted focus and that disappointed me. I do not like horror movies at all, and although this wasn’t a horror movie, there were scenes that weren’t all too terrifying but still looked like it was created by M. Night Shyamalan. I knew it would be about the afterlife, but there were some scenes that looked like they were out of place and made my mother and I question why we spent money to see the movie. If the plot would have reverted back to where the issues were derived from-the brain research, this category would have received a 5/5. Other than this, the plot was very interesting and different. It raises the question: what does happen to your brain when you die? Don’t flatline to find out.

Thrill: 5/5

Although I stated before that I hate horror and anything to do with resurrection, the thrill aspect of the movie did its job extremely well. The music increased to build intensity and dropped completely in the most scary scenes. The makeup for the dead bodies were amazing and looked very real as did the hallucinations. Overall, this movie scared me and excited me at the same time. For once, I understood why people go to see horror movies, (not that I would willingly see one after seeing Flatliners.)

Character Development: 5/5

People tend to forget that character development is a crucial part of a movie, but if we didn’t have it, movies would be extremely confusing and scattered. The character development was fantastic and one of my favorite parts of the movie. It was a critical part of the movie because Courtney’s motivation for flatlining is derived from the obsession with her sister’s death. The opening scene shows Courtney driving her sister and getting into an accident because she was texting and driving. The development stretches further as each character’s pasts are revealed through their hallucinations and they are forced to tell the truth to each other and own up to their mistakes. I love finding out about people, and learning about each of these characters was certainly the best part of the movie.

Ending: 2/5

An ending can either make or break a story. A story line can be spectacular, but all will be ruined if the ending does not match its excellency. Unfortunately, Flatliners was one of those movies. The movie was about two hours long, yet they ended it way too fast. They spent too much time illustrating the hallucinations that they left almost no time for the ending. In addition to this, I was unsatisfied with the resolution as it was too simple and an all too familiar cliche. I won’t spoil it in this article, but the moment when the characters realize what they need to do to end the hallucinations is too predictable. Even thinking about the final scene makes me cringe as the single sound of clinking drinks is the last sound made before the credits roll down the dark screen. It was too simple and boring for such a complex plot. It simply didn’t match up, and that’s why I didn’t enjoy this movie as much as I had anticipated.

Overall rating: 16/20

Overall, save your money instead of spending it on a $12 movie ticket. According to my mother, the 1990 original Flatliners is better, so maybe rent that if you want to know the story. In all honesty, this might be one of those movies that you have to watch a couple times before you actually like it, but I’m not sure I would make it through a second time. The only thing that would make me want to watch it again is Nina Dobrev, because seeing her doesn’t make the movie a total waste.