Flatliners (James Newton Howard)

What is it?

Joel Schumacher’s Flatliners (1990) is often forgotten in the late director’s oeuvre,  but it is a stylish psychological horror film about five medical students who explore near-death experiences through risky experiments, with a desire to find out what lies beyond. It features a roster of young hot shot actors at the time, just as they were rising into stardom (Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon primarily among them).

Although it received mixed reviews at the time, it has since become a cult film. It’s easy to understand why. While the story and its execution leaves something to be desired (it’s fairly plodding and repetitive), it’s stupendously engrossing as a mood piece. Cinematographer (and famous director in his own right) Jan de Bont provides nothing less than a masterclass through his reliance on orange hues for the perpetual twilight that haunts the proceedings, or sumptous, urban film noir for the many nocturnal scenes. This is easily Schumacher’s most stunning film, visually.

Composer James Newton Howard (b. 1951), who had turned his attention from pop music to film scores in the mid 80s, was still in the early stages of his film music career at this point; Flatliners was released just a few months after his big breakthrough for the mega hit Pretty Woman (1990), appropriately also starring Julia Roberts. Only now do we get the premiere release of the score.

How is it?

There are really three main components in this score: First is the huge choir vocalizing doom-laden, renaissance modulations, often applied to imagery of ancient statues, buildings and artwork to connote the religious aspect, the afterlife. Second is the moody urban synth/pop sound that Newton Howard excels at, for the more intimate relationship scenes and for the noir backdrop. Third is a considerable amount of piercing dissonance used for the dangers of the experiments, as well as the visions they bring back into “real” life – the least interesting aspect of the music.

The big heart of the score, the showstopping centerpiece, is of course the choral music – displayed wonderfully in tracks such as «Main Title», «Nelson Flatlines», «Labraccio Goes Under» or «End Titles», sometimes alone, sometimes counterpointed by darker electronic colours. While this may overshadow the rest, there is a lot to be said about the downkey, deliciously pop-ified textures inbetween, sometimes driven by electric guitar («Nelson and Labraccio», «Drive to Deli», «Rachel Goes Home»). The more abstract suspense music does intrude a bit on a sheer listening level, but all three elements come together organically in the film. Which brings us to the issue of presentation:

Weirdly, Flatliners didn’t get a soundtrack album at the time of the film’s release. However, there was a bootleg release in the late 90s, which presented a succinct 30-minute presentation of the score, organized around the four “expedition” experiments, with the best tissue cues inbetween. While we do not condone or support bootleg releases on this site, this was a far superior presentation than the 80-minute, complete and chronological presentation on Intrada’s premiere release, which tends to drag a bit in the (now extended) suspense segments. However, the new release does include several demo takes that in some cases are superior to the finalized cues.So be prepared to whittle a bit for maximum listening flow.

Whatever issues one might have with the presentation, this is a very welcome release. Finally, after 35 years, we get one of James Newton Howard’s most impressive early scores, in great sound quality, and displaying the versatile talent we’ve come to know and love – both his orchestral/choral side and electronic side. So five stars for that, two stars shaven off for the excessive presentation and the rather static suspense material.

Flatliners is currently not available for streaming, but can be purchased on Intrada’s site.

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01. Flatliners Main Title (1:59)
02. Pre Lab (1:36)
03. Nelson & Labraccio (0:50)
04. The Lab (1:08)
05. Nelson Preps (2:45)
06. Nelson Flatlines (2:31)
07. Drive To Deli (1:09)
08. Nelson’s Flashback (1:37)
09. Joe’s Death (1:56)
10. The Alley (3:40)
11. Trick Or Treat (1:26)
12. Labraccio Goes Under (4:42)
13. Billy Attacks In Apartment (1:17)
14. Rachel Reflects (0:51)
15. Rachel’s Death (2:29)
16. Rachel’s Revival (2:16)
17. Billy & Screwdriver (1:59)
18. Schoolyard (3:03)
19. Rachel & Dad In Class (1:23)
20. Nelson In Truck (1:18)
21. Billy Attacks In Truck (1:27)

22. Davey Comforts Rachel (0:47)
23. Graveyard (1:52)
24. Rachel Goes Home (3:05)
25. Nelson Calls Rachel (1:58)
26. Nelson Running To Lab (0:53)
27. Nelson Goes Under (1:36)
28. Boys Arrive At Lab (1:02)
29. Revival Attempts (2:16)
30. Nelson & Billy (1:22)
31. Flatliners End Titles (5:38)

Total Score Time: 61:44

THE EXTRAS

32. Flatliners Main Title (Demo Version) (2:02)
33. Nelson Flatlines (Demo Version) (2:57)
34. Drive To Deli (Demo Version) (1:24)
35. Rachel’s Death (Demo Version) (1:09)
36. Nelson Calls Rachel (Demo Version) (1:27)
37. Boys Arrive At Lab (Alternate) (1:02)
38. Flatliners End Titles (Demo Version) (3:15)
39. Flatliners End Titles (Alternate) (4:32)

Total Extras Time: 17:46
Total Album Time: 79:31