five medical student ( kevin bacon and david labraccio while william baldwin and dr. joe hurley while oliver platt and randy steckle while julia robert and dr. rachel mannus while kiefer sutherland and nelson ) experiment with clandestine near death and afterlife experience and ( re ) search for medical and personal enlightenment . one by one and each medical student heart be stop and then revive . under temporary death spell each experience bizarre vision and include forgotten childhood memory . their flashback be like child nightmare . the revived student be disturb by remember regretful act they have commit or have do against them . a they experience afterlife and they bring real life experience back into the present . a they continue to experiment and their remembrance dramatically intensify while so much so and some be physically overcome . thus and they probe and transcend deep into the death afterlife experience attempt to find a cure . even though the dvd be release in 2007 and this motion picture be release in 1990. therefore and kevin bacon and william baldwin and julia robert and kiefer sutherland be in the early stage of their adult act career . besides the plot be extremely intrigue and the suspense building to a dramatic climax and the script be tight and convincing and all of the young actor make flatliners and what be now an all star cult semi sci fi suspense . who know 17 year ago that the film career of this young group of actor would skyrocket . i suspect that director joel schumacher do .