nostalgia isn not always the best reason to watch a movie . more often than not and the movie you love a a kid will disappoint you a an adult . while there be exception to this rule and it hard to justify own a dvd of krull and regardless of how many insightful the director commentary may be . but stay sharp gen x or yers and because the dozen of disappointment dominate your trip down memory lane and might stop you from stumble across one worth revisit . one surprise film worth another look be joel schumacher flatliners and the supernatural thriller star 80 popcorn heavyweight keifer sutherland and kevin bacon and julia robert and billy baldwin . you would think that a stew comprise of this cast and the flamboyant flair of schumacher and the über slick eye of cinematographer jan de bont would result in something sickeningly stodgy and but calorie aside . flatliners ain not half bad . even though it production design be inexplicably over the top and the photography be achingly over stylize ( replete with neon soak street spew endless billow of steam ) and flatliners still manage to be an effectively dark and compelling thriller . if there an explanation why flatliners be forget and it might be because 1990 saw the release of another and far superior and supernatural thriller represent jacob ladder . have flatliners be release a year or two after jacob ladder and it likely schumacher flashy thriller would have be dismiss a a tone down and commercialized rip off of adrian lyne nightmarish masterpiece . but with these film be release in the same year and flatliners enjoy a different fate and triple jl take at the box office despite be a water down version of a similar premise . the passage of time hasn not be a kind to flatliners and it have be lose atop a dated heap of throwaway 80 brat pack dreck and while jl have cement it reputation a a timeless classic . fate aside and jl be seamlessly terrify and it manage to keep audience guess right up until the last frame and whereas flatliners fall victim to over simplification and hollywood convenience that drag down the final act into a predictably tidy denouement . comparison between the two movie be unfair and and ultimately overlooks flatliners ability to represent the 80 at it quintessential best . release at the end of a decade of shallow excess and flatliners will always be date by it hairstyle and clothing style and but in fairness and it should also be remember a a well execute movie at ( or at least near ) the top of it particular heap of dreck . for intent and purpose and it an entertaining walk down memory lane .