I had heard that this was a sequel of sorts, carrying on from where the original left off. For that reason, I thought I’d give it a go. I then found out it was actually a remake and my heart sank. Why do filmmakers constantly have to remake iconic films? It is not necessary and, in most cases, it is a dismal failure.
I had committed to going to see it, so I did and, do you know what, I was pleasantly surprised. This ‘remake’ was good, in fact, it was better than good – apart from them making Kiefer play an old man….so not cool!
The basic story follows Courtney who, after losing her younger sister in a horrific accident which was her fault (texting whilst driving), becomes obsessed with life after death. More specifically, she wants to know what people actually see and whether there is any brain activity. This prompts her to enlist a few of her medical colleagues in her experiment. You know the rest…..
All but one – Ray – give it a go. Why? Because it somehow ‘wakes up’ areas of the brain enabling them to perform at a higher level.
As with anything of this sort, nothing comes for free, and soon they are haunted by the sins of their pasts and forced to face up to and acknowledge what they’ve done.
This was a very well made film, with a less well known cast. The technology and effects were believable in the world the filmmakers created and so it didn’t seem far fetched for these experiments to take place.
Whilst this was an excellent remake, I still stand by my original view – iconic films should NOT be remade as they DO NOT need to be!!!
Kiefer, Julia, Kevin, William and Oliver will always be the real Flatliners.