The Lazarus Effect (2015)

The Lazarus Effect (2015)

** (out of 4)

A group of scientist discover a formula that could help bring the dead back to life. The main scientist Frank (Mark Duplass) and his fiancé (Olivia Wilde) mess up when signing their contract and end up getting kicked out of the laboratory. Needing to get enough of their records to carry on, the group sneak back into the lab but after an accident Frank's fiancé is killed. They decide to use the formula to bring her back to life but things don't go as planned.

THE LAZARUS EFFECT has a few interesting ideas and some great performances, which keep it from being a complete trainwreck but there's no question that the film doesn't take its subject serious enough to have the film work. There's no question that there are elements of FLATLINERS here but people will also be thinking of LUCY, which was released the previous year as this film.

It should be noted that without the end credits this movie runs just 76 minutes, which is extremely short in today's time. I personally love shorter movies but this one here is just so uneven that the film pretty much ends just as you feel it should be taking off. I say that because there are some interesting ideas about Heaven and Hell here but sadly very few of them are fully explored because once the fiancé is brought back to life the film turns into a rather generic horror movie. I'm not sure why the screenplay would introduce such good idea but then not do anything with them and especially since the film is so short and could have been expanded on.

The performances in the film is what save it and help carry the material. Both Duplass and Wilde are very good and especially believable in their roles. Supporting players Sarah Bolger, Evan Peters and Donald Glover are also very good. Technically speaking the film features a nice score, good cinematography and the director certainly makes a professional looking film. With that said, THE LAZARUS EFFECT completely falls apart during the final fifteen minutes, which is a real shame.

Fmovies: A group of medical students discover a way to bring dead patients back to life.

The Lazarus Effect stars Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters, Sarah Polger and is directed by David Gelb. This is another horror movie and we've seen those couple of jump scares before; but it does have some very creepy imagery and when this start happening it's not that bad. The film deals with a theory debating whether when you die some chemical elements in your brain make you see the white light at the end of the tunnel or you actually go to heaven and this stage is just some kind of process to enter it. In fact, it has you wondering is she possessed or is she just unlocking her brain and that's what triggers this weird version of herself? However, it's not giving you enough information to let you decide what's actually going on. Ultimately The Lazarus Effect feels like a horror version of Lucy but messier this time with some horror things happening in order to to keep the audience entertained for what it is. Sometimes it tries to be smart but gives you conflicting information and then you're lost, it doesn't quiet know where to go. Finally, actors are functional, especially Evan Peters who has some pretty good lines and clearly is the comic relief in the movie.

Overall The Lazarus Effect is more or less what you expect it to be, an horror movie with some jump scares as usual but with some pretty cool and relevant imagery. It's an effective but very messy movie.

Quality of production was good, acting was good, what was included in the storyline was good, I enjoyed it overall, but I thought that more could have been added to make this film stellar. There was too much that was unexplained. Plus this being a fairly short film, they could have added more scenes, especially leading up the the spooky stuff. I felt that the progression of events was rushed overall. Also the character development was a bit rushed. I could have understood the rushed character development more, if there were more detail provided about the ideas. I was really looking forward to this film, and I wish that it lived up to the hype. I did see the similarities in plot description as "flatliners" but this movie was presented in a totally different way. I really like the ideas used in this movie, I hope they make a second and more complete version.

The Lazarus Effect fmovies. "There's something seriously wrong with that animal. It's like it was possessed or something."

Once again a movie about the fact that playing for God could cause some life-threatening situations. Do you remember the film "Pet Sematary"? And also "The other side of the door" showed that it's not a good idea to resurrect a deceased person in a non-everyday way. The same happens to Frank (Mark Duplass) and Zoë (Olivia Wilde) in this inferior Scifi / Horror. Zoë has developed a serum called "The Lazarus serum", to give health care professionals more time to do their work. By means of this serum, it should be possible to bring deceased patients back to life. During an experiment on a dead dog it turns out that not only the animal is walking around and wagging his tail again, but also the cataract he had is cured. They realize that they have manufactured something revolutionary.

Of course, you can predict what's going to happen. They'll be using the serum to bring someone back to life. In this case it'll be Zoë, who's being electrocuted by an unfortunate incident. But don't be sad. Frank doesn't hesitate to inject this revolutionary stuff into Zoë's brain. And before they know it, they end up with a non-human female person, whose brain is developing at a fast pace, giving her all kind of demonic and non-human powers. In addition, a youth trauma plays a prominent role as well. And so Zoë starts to develop this irresistible urge to send everyone to the place where she just came from. The afterlife.

I have no problem with rehashed concepts. If only the package feels original and new ideas are introduced. And if that's not the case, at least I expect it to be a bit of a scary and terrifying horror. Unfortunately, it fails on all levels. It certainly isn't original and there are no new ideas introduced. And you can't say this movie is horrifying. Not even close. Even Zoë's carbon black eyes won't help. I have to admit that the used neurosurgery language was credible. To be honest this was the only complicated part in this fairly trivial story.

So despite the scientific drivel and even the attempt to give it a religious touch, this film is just a watered down version of other movies about someone being raised from the dead. The only thing I was very excited about was the way in which Clay (Evan Peeters) and Niko (Donald Glover) were send to the eternal hunting grounds. But that's not enough to make it a fascinating film. Clay had better read "Pet Semetary" instead of "Cujo". He certainly would have protested against Zoe's resurrection. Or at least get the hell out of there. But on the other hand this movie wouldn't be the same anymore. Yet one positive feature. The film only takes 90 minutes.

More reviews here : http://bit.ly/2qtGQoc

The Lazarus Effect is another example of a major Hollywood produced horror movie that is giving the horror genre a bad name. Everything that happens here is pretty much straightforward and therefore, boring. There were no surprises in the film or twists that take the story in an unexpected direction and gave the film some life.

Lazarus is just like I said above, it's a mix of Event Horizon + Lucy + Carrie, interpret that as you wish. The problem just like with Lucy is that the villain gets too powerful and there is basically no chance of survival, a lopsided battle. Where as with Carrie, we are given a reason for her breakdown and vengeance, in Lazarus we are given absolutely nothing, no motive, no nothing.

And of course, to no surprise the movie features plenty of flashing lights where characters appear and disappear into the darkness. It's cheap gimmicks like this that are used to create scares that ruins movies, versus actually building up tension and a thick atmosphere. The Lazarus Effect features nothing to boast about, not even it's cast since they are completely under utilized, everything here is dull.

But again, this was a Hollywood produced horror film so it's not surprise the movie is being torn apart by critics. Instead, skip this and watch the superior 'Flatliners', at least they provide some added depth and an eerie atmosphere!

First of all, you'll probably get more entertainment out of these user reviews than you will by seeing the actual movie. To clarify...aren't all possession movies inherently pro-Christian since the inclusion of demons and hell implies that there is are angels and heaven (since Lucifer was cast out of heaven and became the devil)?

As someone that has seen lot of REALLY bad horror films, I can safely say that The Lazarus Effect isn't all that bad. It's got a pretty decent cast in Mark Duplass and Olivia Wilde, but it's a cheap horror film. You get the predictable jump-scares, you get the dialed in dialogue, what else did you expect?

You don't go to see horror films because they're particularly well written or original. This movie is literally just a hodgepodge of movies like: Carrie, Lucy (the whole 10% of your brain thing), The Phoenix Project, Pet Semetary, Flatliners, etc.

I actually somewhat enjoyed this, but you realistically need to set your expectations 6 feet under. Maybe this film will find a way to resurrect some of your faith in the horror genre that way. It sure as hell isn't going to resurrect the $10 bucks you spent on the ticket at the theater.

Additionally, what ever happened to the novelty of watching a film before reviewing it?

Read the full review and others like it on the Drive-in Zeppelin website