The Trailer:
Director: David Gelb
Cast: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass. Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger, & Donald Glover
Synopsis: A group of medical researchers discover a way to bring the dead back to life.
This isn't a horrible movie, but it also wasn't great. On one hand, it's just a simple little cliché horror film and on the other hand it's a movie that questions the morality of the progression of medical science in regards to religious beliefs. So for some time while watching, I was thinking they were going to delve deeper into this idea of how to blend science and religion to create a truly complex story. But it quickly becomes clear that that's not where the writers wanted to take this movie. And that leaves me wondering why they even plant that seed of thought in the first place? I mean it's even titled The Lazarus Effect, which Lazarus taxon is a term commonly used in science to describe organisms that reappear after they were thought to have been extinct but it also refers to a bible story about a man, Lazarus, who was brought back to life. Even the Dean of the school mentions that they are playing "God with a bunch of dead animals". There's also mention of hell and how it punishes it's inhabitants. Yet the religion aspect is never really examined, so again, why bring religion into it in the first place?
The acting in this movie is great. Olivia Wilde as Zoe— the one who developed the Lazarus serum and who is later brought back to life with it— delivers a compelling performance as a woman who has to maneuver through all this new found strength she now possesses and becomes a terrifying super-human in the process. Mark Duplass as Frank, Zoe's fiance, is dedicated to his research and a pretty sound guy up until he decides to bring Zoe back to life, which if I'm going to be honest, doesn't seem like something a guy like him would do. If this were reality, a scientist who doesn't know the true implications of a drug wouldn't subject their significant other to it, not only is that immoral but there is also no way of helping her if things go awry because there is no precedence to her condition. But, I do realize that this is just a movie, and there wouldn't even be a movie if Frank hadn't given Zoe the Lazarus serum, so moving on. Evan Peters as Clay is nothing to talk about; he is the douchey guy of the group and he does a fair job at it. Donald Glover as Niko does a good job at his role, though his character doesn't contribute much to the story, same as Evan Peters' character. Sarah Bolger as Eva is fantastic as well and delivers such an honest performance with real emotional depth, we can feel her fear. As a group, they have a dynamic that is rooted in reality; they butt heads, they contribute, they work together, they are a team. And it really worked as the movie progresses and we see the characters feelings and thoughts mirror each others', yet can't decide how to deal with the situation.
They are some effects in the movie that I think it could've done without. For example, these:
The peeling, fiery skin just looks silly and not scary. And the whole 'person being magically pulled from behind' effect has been done a million times before that's lost it's wow factor. There's also some scenes shown through security-cam footage, which to me just seems dumb. There's no reason for those scenes to be filmed that way. There are quite a few jump scares (we all know i hate jump scares), that of course lose their scary element after about the third time. Also the jump scares are seen from about a million light-years away before they happen, so even the first few weren't a surprise.
I believe that The Lazarus Effect could've been a really great movie had they focused on the religion vs. science theme and been a bit more thought provoking. Further, had it been done without all the bells and whistles of the special effects and been more about atmosphere it could've been better. As it is now, it's a decent horror flick that , honestly, no one will remember a year from now. Would I watch it again? Nah, I'll pass.
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