Joel Schumacher’s Flatliners
They are gifted, driven, ambitious and competitive, Rachel Manus, David Labraccio, Joe Hurley and Randy Steckle, but even among his brightest peers medical students Nelson Wright stands out as determined to push boundaries of ethics and safety, obsessed with the phenomena of near-death experiences and believing they may hold answers to key questions of life and death, what is between and what is beyond.
Persuading his colleagues to assist him, they induce a controlled cardiac arrest, allowing him to “flatline” for a full minute of no measurable brain activity before reviving him; elated and euphoric, he describes his vivid experience, encouraging the others to follow him to the other side before being back to safety, each of them having very different visions but with Wright failing to detail the side effects – a growing sense of unease that he is being followed…
Originally released in the summer of 1990, Flatliners was the sixth film from production designer turned writer turned director Joel Schumacher, capitalising on his affinity for casting up-and-coming stars for his ensemble which had served him well with St Elmo’s Fire and with a dash of commercially aware horror of The Lost Boys, though with a budget almost twice those two films combined, little of which went to special effects with changes of atmosphere between the real and the waking nightmare instead being achieved through lighting transitions.
The script by The Craft’s Peter Filardi recalling aspects of The Asphyx and Brainstorm, one capturing death and the other vicariously experiencing it, Flatliners is a bold premise set amongst suitably grand architecture filled with imposing statuary, magnificently shot by Black Rain’s Jan de Bont who would soon move to directing himself with Speed and using locations around Chicago to represent the medical school and the abandoned Gothic church the quintet use for their unsanctioned and dangerous experiments.
Set in a perpetual autumnal twilight imbuing a sense of things coming to an end and balancing religion and science against each other from the opening shots of Wright watching the sun set and declaring it is a good day to die, the undercurrent is emphasised by James Newton Howard’s use of soaring choral voices as autopsies are conducted in darkened chambers overlooked by Renaissance paintings, ridiculous for a school but appropriate for the film which concludes with the image of Prometheus stealing fire from Olympus, a daring act for which he was harshly punished.
While the concepts of the two films could not be more different, The Lost Boys a standard vampire story made unconventional by its use of humour and rock music and Flatliners more profound in theme and serious in approach, they can be seen as companion pieces with much in common, the costumed Hallowe’en carnival and bonfires recalling the beach parties of the Santa Carla Boardwalk, Zeus glowering in the background where before the portrait of Jim Morrison observed without judgement, and of course Schumacher’s flashy sense of style and the presence of Kiefer Sutherland.
The opening credits of The Lost Boys listing the cast alphabetically with Sutherland last, here he takes top billing as Wright followed by Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon as Manus and Labraccio, a trio of strong-willed and intelligent individuals whose common goals and conflicts are clearly expressed, friends and rivals who may disagree but remain loyal to each other even when pushed to extremes, able to forgive each other despite their anger but finding it harder to forgive themselves.
Presented by Arrow from a new 4K restoration of the original negative approved by de Bont which showcases the lighting, locations and sets, the new edition of Flatliners contains a new commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry, interviews with Filardi, de Bont, Howard, production designer Eugenio Zanetti, art director Larry Lundy, costume designer Susan Becker and others as well as the original trailer and a gallery.
Joel Schumacher’s Flatliners will be available on Blu-ray from Arrow films from Monday 1st August
