Movie · 1990 · Drama, Science Fiction, Horror · 1h 55m · R · English
Curator score: 2.4/10 (156.7K ratings)
Some lines shouldn't be crossed.
Overview
Five medical students experiment with "near death" experiences, until the dark consequences of past tragedies begin to jeopardize their lives.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.4/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.19/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
Metacritic: 55
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
Joel Schumacher
Production
Stonebridge Entertainment, Columbia Pictures
Cast
Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, Kimberly Scott, Joshua Rudoy, Benjamin Mouton, Aeryk Egan, Kesha Reed, Hope Davis, Jim Ortlieb, John Duda, Megan Stewart, Tressa Thomas, Sanna Vraa, Beth Grant, Marilyn Dodds Frank, Patricia Belcher, Deborah Thompson Duda
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, melodramatic early-90s horror-thriller with a killer premise, strong visual style, and a sincere commitment to its own gothic mood. It’s uneven and occasionally silly, but the atmosphere, cast, and high-concept dread make it easy to recommend for viewers who like stylish genre films with a pulpy edge.
Best for
fans of gothic horror and supernatural thrillers
viewers who enjoy stylish 90s studio genre movies
people who like ensemble casts with soap-opera intensity
Halloween-season rewatchers
fans of medical-morality stories with a dark twist
Skip if
you want airtight science or logic
you dislike melodrama and campy seriousness
you prefer restrained, subtle horror
you need a consistently scary movie rather than an atmosphere-first one
Overview
Flatliners is one of those high-concept studio genre movies that fully commits to the bit. Five medical students start testing the boundary between life and death, and the film treats that reckless curiosity with a mix of gothic dread, emotional guilt, and glossy late-80s/early-90s excess. It’s a movie about ambition, shame, and the way unresolved trauma comes back wearing a supernatural mask.
Worth noting
What makes it work is the style. The movie looks great, moves with confidence, and leans into a moody, almost operatic tone that gives the whole thing a strange romantic pull. The performances are pitched big enough to match the material, and that sincerity helps the sillier elements land as part of the appeal rather than a flaw.
Bottom line
It’s not a perfectly balanced film, and the science is basically decorative, but that’s not really the point. Flatliners is best enjoyed as a dark, stylish fever dream: a prestige-adjacent horror thriller with real visual flair, a memorable premise, and enough emotional messiness to keep it interesting long after the premise has been established.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (4★) · 626 likes
Twentysomething angst via operatic gothic melodrama. It rules.
Nakul (3.5★) · 583 likes
In 80s, scaring kids was Kiefer Sutherland's favorite pastime.
Jim (5★) · 414 likes
remember not to leave your kiefer sutherland in a hot car this summer
sarah squirm · 397 likes
no one in this movie wants julia roberts to flatline because she’s too beautiful
steph mccann (3.5★) · 307 likes
finally a movie about how doctors are fucking weird