Review - The Lazarus Effect

The Dead Rise, But Should They?

By Paul Hall

In theaters 2/27/15

© 2015 Relativity Media

Biblically speaking, the rising of Lazarus from the dead was a prominent part in the Gospel of John and was understood to be a sign of the divine authority of Jesus. What then happens when a team of scientists finds a serum that will help bring the dead to life? That’s the premise of the new film, The Lazarus Effect.

Frank, Zoe, Clay and Niko have worked hard to come up with a way to bring life back to the newly deceased. With a success reviving a recently deceased dog, they bring in a documentarian to shoot the efforts of the team to perfect the procedure. Quickly they learn that while this dog is moving, he is not the same.

Abruptly, their research gets cut short. A leak has allowed the pharmaceutical company that now controls their grant money to become aware of their efforts. The university, under direction from this high-powered company, decides to shut down their lab.

Not deterred, the team enters the lab one last time to try and establish the proof that they are behind their experiments in an attempt to thwart any effort to steal the serum.

Attempting to re-create the experiment for the camera, something goes horribly wrong and Zoe is electrocuted. Frank will do anything to get Zoe back even if it means using the serum that was never tested on humans. But nothing can prepare the team for the horrors this attempt to play God will unleash.

A film with such deep moral and ethical questions should be a winner as the challenges are laid out in plain terms. Unfortunately, the film strays from addressing the questions and the challenges that exist with scientific research and it becomes simply a peripheral aspect in moving the plot along. The film settles for the easy answers to the tough questions.

I jumped occasionally but instead of the hairs on my arm standing on end, they just sat there.

It felt like the acting talent was just wasted on a boilerplate scary movie. I was waiting for that special horror movie that scares you to your core and not just as the result of cheap tricks. With the story that was inherently in place, this had the chance to be that film, and it failed. I wanted so much more for The Lazarus Effect.

As I rose from the seat that was my home for the short 83-minute film, I wondered if they finally got the result right by making someone rise from the dead.

The Lazarus Effect

PG-13

Directed by: David Gelb

Starring: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters

Paul's Grade: C-