Clocking in at a mere 1:23, the 2015 sci-fi horror flick âThe Lazarus Effectâ still manages to be about 1:23 too long.
âLazarusâ openly steals its base idea from âFlatlinersâ a better film that has been made two times with decent results for both. If thatâs not enough, it borrows themes from âPet Semetaryâ and âCujoâ as well â 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 âLazarusâ – that they discover has the ability to bring deceased animals back to life. Itâs obviously a revolutionary discovery, but only if they can get it right. âYouâre not adapting, youâre playing God with a bunch of dead animals.â Scolds the University Dean as the groupâs 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 donât go as planned.
The cast is actually decent from top to bottom. Olivia Wilde makes it tough to concentrate, but sheâs a capable actress nonetheless. Sheâs joined by Mark Duplass who has a career of minor roles but performs well as Frank, the senior member of the crew and Zoeâs fiancé. The dynamic the couple is actually explored well, at least in the one scene they share together, as they debate each otherâs thoughts on the afterlife in a plausible way.
Evan Peters plays Clay, the comical member of the squad. Peters is one of those faces youâve seen a million times but canât necessarily pinpoint it down to where. Donald Glover, who made headlines in last yearâs âSoloâ again shows heâs 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 âThe Lazarus Effectâ are simple. Itâs not scary and the story has been done before, and been done better before (see aforementioned âFlatliners.â The movie starts with the resurrection of a dog (see aforementioned âPet Semetaryâ) who goes slightly berserk (see aforementioned âCujoâ) 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.
