Flatliners

Flatliners

Year: 2017

Runtime: 109 min

Language: English

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Echo Score: 30
Sci-FiDramaThrillerHorror

Driven by a fascination with death, five medical students embark on a dangerous experiment. They take turns pushing their bodies to the brink of dying, recording their experiences and confronting the boundaries of life and death. However, as they repeatedly induce near-death states, they unknowingly awaken vengeful forces, and their suppressed secrets and guilt begin to manifest as terrifying visions and threatening consequences.

Flatliners (2017) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

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In the sterile hallways of a prestigious medical school, a handful of ambitious students chase a question that sits at the edge of science and the supernatural: what lies beyond the final heartbeat? Their curiosity is fueled by late‑night lectures, a demanding mentor, and an unspoken promise that knowledge can be pushed past any boundary. The campus becomes a quiet arena where ambition hums louder than the fluorescent lights, and every lab bench feels like a launch pad for something both exhilarating and forbidden.

Courtney Holmes leads the group, a driven young doctor whose personal loss has sharpened her resolve to understand the afterlife. Around her gather Marlo, a fiercely intelligent peer whose confidence masks deeper anxieties; Ray, the skeptical yet ever‑supportive friend who balances science with empathy; Sophia, an eager scholar weighed down by family expectations; and Jamie, whose curiosity borders on recklessness. Together they devise an audacious experiment: temporarily stopping their hearts while recording each other’s brain activity, hoping to glimpse whatever lies on the other side. The plan is steeped in scientific rigor, yet the atmosphere crackles with a restless, almost ritualistic energy, as if each participant is daring fate to answer a question that has haunted them for years.

The film’s tone weaves between clinical precision and a creeping dread, a psychological thriller that treats the operating room as both sanctuary and stage. As the students prepare for their daring foray into the unknown, a palpable tension lingers—personal secrets, unspoken regrets, and the thin veil between life and death hang in the balance. Their camaraderie deepens, but an undercurrent of unease suggests that probing the ultimate frontier may awaken forces far beyond what textbooks can explain, leaving the audience to wonder just how far curiosity can safely travel.

Last Updated: August 10, 2025 at 03:02

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Flatliners

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Flatliners

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