The Craft (1996)

The Craft (1996): written by Peter Filardi and Andrew Fleming; directed by Andrew Fleming; starring Robin Tunney (Sarah Bailey), Fairuza Balk (Nancy), Neve Campbell (Bonnie), Rachel True (Rochelle), Christine Taylor (Laura), and Skeet Ulrich (Chris): 

One of those movies about teenagers in which the youngest actor is 21 at the time of filming and the oldest 29. Screenwriter Peter Filardi previously served up the hoohah that was Flatliners (1990). The Craft is better than that, though it's still mostly hoohah when it come to representing this sort of magic. 

Well, we don't want the kids at home trying to practice REAL magic, do we? The god 'Manon' who keeps getting name-checked is an invention of Filardi's, possibly just after he saw Manon of the Spring at the local art-house theatre.

The Craft is hilariously afflicted with a terrible slate of cover songs of classic New Wave and 1980's material. This is the most horrifying thing about the movie.

The movie takes full advantage of Fairuza Balk's unusually broad and flexible face, sometimes to cruel extents that suggest she's auditioning to be the next Joker. Robin Tunney is too bland to make an engaging protagonist, but here she is. It's certainly interesting to see any Hollywood movie in which the few male characters are relegated to supporting parts, though. Lightly recommended.

Flatliners (1990)

Look out! There's a train coming!

Flatliners (1990): written by Peter Filardi; directed by Joel Schumacher; starring Kiefer Sutherland (Nelson), Julia Roberts (Rachel), Kevin Bacon (David), William Baldwin (Joe), and Oliver Platt (Steckle): I guess if you're going to kill yourself and then be revived so as to probe the mysteries of what lies beyond death, you might as well do so in a run-down, moodily lighted church while working at a hospital that looks like the offspring of a Renaissance art gallery, a brothel, and something Poe barfed up after doing too many shrooms.

You could use Flatliners to teach... the 1980's! Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, and Kevin Bacon BRING THE HAIR. So much hair. Such odd apartments. Kevin Bacon seems to live in an abandoned warehouse. William Baldwin seems to live inside a clock tower. Kiefer Sutherland seems to live in a set of rooms just vacated by Dave Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey prior to his transformation into the Star Child.

Joel Schumacher cues you as to supernatural shenanigans with colourful lighting. And what supernatural shenanigans! I enjoyed watching Kiefer Sutherland repeatedly pummelled by the ghost of a ten-year-old boy. Or is it a ghost? Time will tell!

Kiefer Sutherland has this outfit when we first see him... I won't spoil it. But it should go in the Smithsonian as an awesome example of late-80's chic. And Kevin Bacon rappels down from his apartment window at one point because this is what people did back then. Such, such were the joys! Recommended because it was terrible but fun.

Flatliners (2017)

Nina Dobrev gets defibrillated incorrectly.

Flatliners (2017): adapted by Ben Ripley from the previous film written by Peter Filardi; directed by Niels Arden Oplev; starring Ellen Page (Courtney), Diego Luna (Ray), Nina Dobrev (Marlo), James Norton (Jamie), Kiersey Clemons (Sophia), and Kiefer Sutherland (Dr. Wolfson): 

The original Flatliners wasn't very good, and is perhaps remembered best for its confluence of Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, and Julia Roberts unconvincingly playing three Med School Interns who start killing themselves and reviving themselves so as to explore the world of Near-Death Experiences (NDE) up-close and personal.

Same thing here, slightly different characters and results. Ellen Page is semi-believable as an intern. I guess. Everybody spouts a lot of silly medicobabble. The ladies keep getting defibrillated through their clothing, which I have it on good authority wouldn't be reliable and might actually set someone's clothing on fire. OK, there's a scene I'd like to see.

Kiefer Sutherland plays the interns' supervisor while wearing a white fright wig and limping around on a cane to denote great age. He's not the same character as the original movie, which is too bad. I'd have liked to have heard Sutherland yell about flatlining. Alas, no.

Everyone's really casual about dying and coming back, even as the revivals take longer and longer. By the time someone utters the line, "if they find out we've been flatlining, we'll be expelled!", I assume brain damage has set in. This isn't a terrible movie. It's not scary and it's dumb, but so was the first movie, regardless of what your nostalgic memories tell you. Grantchester's hunky Anglican priest James Norton does a pretty good generic American accent -- certainly better than Benedict Cumberbatch has ever mustered. Good for him. Not recommended.