Even though history doesn’t exactly carry that much regard
for filmmaker Joel Schumacher, I can’t help but think that his legacy has been
unfairly discarded. Most remember him for the legendary failure that is Batman
& Robin, and it’s honestly the kind of film designed to destroy careers in
the first place, but the guy’s body of work stretches far beyond that. Me
personally, while his more silly tendencies do factor into a lot of the guy’s films, when he indulges
in his darker sensibilities, he is un-goddamn-touchable. From the look into
self-induced paranoia of The Number 23 to his examination of the sex industry
and the darkness within with 8MM, right down to Falling Down, a film I
genuinely think changed my larger worldview for the better after first watching
it. Basically, the guy either makes really good dark cinema or really cheesy
cinema; he’s far better at the former than the latter.
One such example of this
is the original Flatliners, a film that, once it found a consistent tone, made
for good psycho-thrills; you can probably guess already what draws me to this
guy’s filmography. Of course, knowing the track record for
sequels-masquerading-as-remakes, learning about today’s film made my heart sink
a little bit. But hey, maybe there’s another surprise in store for us; after
all I’ve covered this year, I wouldn’t put it past anyone to succeed against
the odds. Take a deep breath, like it could be your last, and let’s get
started.
