Flatliners

Description:
Medical student Nelson Wright tries to get several of his classmates to experiment with artificially induced near-death experiences. Scientific success and the fame that goes with it are important to him. In addition to Dave, who has just been suspended for four months because of an illegal emergency operation, Joe and Randy, he also asks Rachel for support. Rachel is interested in near-death experiences and asks affected patients about their experiences at every opportunity.

Nelson is the first to be placed in a state of clinical death for one minute and then revived. Impressed by the success, Rachel also wants to be put in this state. However, Joe wins the "betting" by the length of the period: 1:30 minutes. The experiment is carried out the next evening, cardiac arrest and resuscitation succeed again.

The experiments have unexpected side effects for those involved. Nelson experiences frightening daydreams, resulting in injuries to his face. A little boy attacks him with hands and objects; during the attacks, Nelson realizes it's Billy Mahoney, whom he downplayed himself years ago. Apparitions follow Joe too. He sees accusing girls and women on every screen whom he lured into his bed with false promises and filmed there without their knowledge. Nelson and Joe do not talk about their negative experiences, but only report about the positive impressions during clinical death.

After Joe, Rachel wants to be placed in a condition of clinical death. But Dave wants to last 2:20 minutes and should therefore be next. As an atheist, for Dave it's less a belief in a divine encounter and more a desire not to put Rachel in harm's way. He begins to develop feelings for her and wants to protect her. Nelson watches this and reacts jealously. Dave's resuscitation almost fails, only after more than 3:50 minutes does his heartbeat start again. Shortly afterwards, he too starts daydreaming. He is being stalked by a former classmate he teased in the schoolyard years ago.

Now Rachel gets her wish and wants to be placed in clinical death for five minutes. But Dave wants to stop when he realizes the side effect of her experiments. He blames Joe and Nelson for not telling a word about their negative experiences. In Rachel's near-death experience, her father appears. He shot himself when she was five years old. Since then, Rachel has felt guilty about her father's suicide. After seeing the afterlife as positive and worth striving for through the stories about the near-death experiences, a world collapses for her when she too is haunted by the appearance of her dead father and she sees life after death as very gloomy.

When Joe returns home that evening, he surprisingly meets his fiancé in his apartment. She discovered the videos and then broke off her engagement. Dave tries to face his visions and ultimately finds the girl he teased as a child. On the way to her, Nelson joins him because out of fear and despair of Billy Mahoney he no longer wants to be alone. Dave meets the girl from back then; she is now a mother herself and grows flowers. After a long conversation, she accepts Dave's apology and thanks him for this late clarification.

Nelson begins to self-injure more and more violently during his daydreams. So Dave places Nelson in the care of Joe and Randy. You should help him to free himself from his guilt: you should find Billy Mahoney. Nelson leads them to the cemetery and shows them Billy's grave. Desperate, he explains that Mahoney died through his fault and that he therefore has no opportunity to ask for forgiveness. After the confession and the announcement that he will make things right, Nelson flees from his two friends by car. These inform Dave and go on a search together.

Rachel is left alone. In a daydream she remembers that her father took drugs. She recognizes her groundless self-condemnation and reconciles with her father in a dream. Shortly thereafter, Nelson calls Rachel and announces his reconciliation with Billy Mahoney. He plans to commit himself to clinical death to atone for his debt to Billy.

Rachel, Joe, Dave and Randy rush to Nelson and try to revive him. On the brink of absolute death, Nelson makes peace with Billy Mahoney in a vision. At the last second he is brought back by his friends and wakes up.