Niels Arden Oplev’s reboot of Flatliners (2017) is one of those reboots that managed to be better than the original.

Which isn’t saying too much since Joel Schumacher’s movie wasn’t too great, mainly due to its mix of music video esthetics and schmaltz that has not aged too well.

The reboot eschews the music video esthetics (except where it’s required) and schmaltz for a cleaner, sharper-edged look.

Which is for the most part welcome though a central concept of the original–the idea that the medical students are essentially being haunted by their fears, doubts and guilt, remains, which doesn’t feel as nearly as thought out as it should.

That being said, it’s worth seeing though don’t expect it to be a quantum leap in terms of quality, which is more an inditement of the original.