Clocking in at a mere 1:23, the 2015 sci-fi horror flick “The Lazarus Effect” still manages to be about 1:23 too long.
“Lazarus” openly steals its base idea from “Flatliners” a better film that has been made two times with decent results for both. If that’s not enough, it borrows themes from “Pet Semetary” and “Cujo” as well – the result being a bad attempt at a horror film, unless you want your movie to have a straight-to-video feel.
A team of four medical students, led by Zoe (the striking Olivia Wilde), have been working on a research project for several years – code-named ‘Lazarus’ – that they discover has the ability to bring deceased animals back to life. It’s obviously a revolutionary discovery, but only if they can get it right. “You’re not adapting, you’re playing God with a bunch of dead animals.” Scolds the University Dean as the group’s funding is pulled. In true horror fashion, the four members of the team, accompanied by a videographer student and her camcorder, sneak back into the lab late at night in efforts to replicate the experiment, and of course (drum roll) things don’t go as planned.
The cast is actually decent from top to bottom. Olivia Wilde makes it tough to concentrate, but she’s a capable actress nonetheless. She’s joined by Mark Duplass who has a career of minor roles but performs well as Frank, the senior member of the crew and Zoe’s fiancé. The dynamic the couple is actually explored well, at least in the one scene they share together, as they debate each other’s thoughts on the afterlife in a plausible way.
Evan Peters plays Clay, the comical member of the squad. Peters is one of those faces you’ve seen a million times but can’t necessarily pinpoint it down to where. Donald Glover, who made headlines in last year’s “Solo” again shows he’s got the chops to share the screen with a big name like Olivia Wilde. Videographer Eva is played by Sarah Bolger, another Hollywood bench player, but a pleasant face that fits right into a (supposedly) scary story.
The issues with “The Lazarus Effect” are simple. It’s not scary and the story has been done before, and been done better before (see aforementioned “Flatliners.” The movie starts with the resurrection of a dog (see aforementioned “Pet Semetary”) who goes slightly berserk (see aforementioned “Cujo”) but other than jump scaring Clay is never really featured again. And even that is a stretch. At least Cujo was a massive St. Bernard, the dog in this is a 30 pound mutt that any adult should be able to swiftly kick to the side.
Not scary. Not entertaining. Not worth your time.
