[A BREW TO A KILL] ‘FLATLINERS’ and Wake Up Dead

What happens in the moments before death? When the brain shuts down and those synapses fire for the last time, what is released? Maybe memories drift in and out. Is that where the cliche of life flashing before your eyes comes from? What if our darkest secrets and biggest sins were waiting?

Medical student, Nelson (Kiefer Sutherland) recruits four classmates for a dangerous experiment. He wants to flat-line for one minute and then be revived. With him is a freshly expelled, reckless Kevin Bacon, an uptight Oliver Platt, a womanizing William Baldwin and lastly a death obsessed Julia Roberts. After Nelson is successfully revived his cohorts compete for who flat-lines next and for how long. But it isn’t a harmless apparition, this malicious spirit wants blood and perhaps revenge.

I won’t waste any time scrutinizing the “science” in this movie. Besides the inconsistent morality is far more interesting. There’s no clear reason why most of the characters are so invested in near death experiences. Julia Roberts has the only real excuse/guilt to carry on but it’s not surprising (daddy issues). Everyone else seems in it for the glory, the perceived acclaim that will surely follow. I usually refrain from spoilers, but let’s be honest, I doubt you will watch this movie. And that’s okay. William Baldwin’s character keeps seeing hallucinations of all the random women he’s slept with and videotaped. His fiancee finally finds out when she discovers his tape collection. Kevin Bacon was a bully and the girl he tormented shows up, still 10 years old, and insults him. I didn’t really think this was so bad. But after tracking down the classmate, the Baconator’s hallucinations stop. Julia Roberts keeps reliving the moments leading up to her father’s suicide. And Kiefer’s character accidentally killed a kid when he was 10.

Is it because Kiefer’s tormentor able to cause physical harm? Did flat-lining stir up the guilt the characters feel? I’m not totally clear on how it all got resolved, which brings us to the beer.

Wake Up Dead is a Russian Imperial Stout from Left Hand Brewing Company. I didn’t mean to review the same brewery twice. This is a pairing I’ve had in mind for quite a while. Imperial Stouts were originally brewed in England and then exported to Catherine the Great’s court in Russia. It is higher in ABV so it would survive the journey to Russia. Winter is a great time for stouts. Their heartiness and full body stand up well to the cold. Stouts go together well with steak, potatoes and chili.

Wake Up Dead has a 10.2% ABV. It is available on draft, and 22 ounce bombers. The label says that this beer will be good for up to seven years. Mine was bottled on December 21, 2012, which oddly enough is the date that inspired me  to start writing. The beer had a licorice and malt aroma to it. It starts out with a big chocolate taste that give way to a roasted flavor. Near the end is when the burn from the alcohol come prevalent. I finished the bottle at the 1:05 mark of an almost two hour movie. The beer to movie ratio is an important one. Since this was so high in alcohol I didn’t mind running out so quickly. And I’m happy to report the next morning I didn’t wake up wishing I was dead.