The Lazarus Project (2008) User Reviews

a haunting drama

[lordlahkra · 7/10 · 11 October 2008]

a psychological thriller that will make you think from the the beginning to the end. although a bit slow in the first parts to the middle, thats why its a psychological thriller, the climax to the end compensated for it.

the lines are well delivered, a good script, all in all, a good movie. the acting's pretty convincing, particularly the way the lead actor tracks down the roots of his dilemma and the way he acted on it. i just gave it a seven coz, as i have said, the first parts makes me sleepy.

just keep in mind that this in not for those who liked fast paced or some such types of movies.

Intriguing Thriller

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 7 November 2008]

In Dallas, Texas, the family man Ben Garvey (Paul Walker) is on probation but he is a hard worker of the Fort Garry Brewery Company and lives a simple life with his beloved wife Lisa (Piper Perabo) and their daughter Katie (Brooklynn Proulx). When his probation period finishes, Ben's brother Ricky (Shawn Hatosy) visits him after being released from prison and invites Ben to heist 12 kg of gold in dust from a laboratory. Ben refuses the invitation but he is fired from his job because of his record; he decides to join Ricky and his partner Phelps (Alex Sol) in the robbery. However things go wrong and Ricky, Phelps and a security guard die in the heist and Ben is sentenced to death for the murders. After his execution through lethal injection, Ben awakes working as housekeeper of the Monte Angel community in Dundee, Oregon, for Father Ezra (Bob Gunton), who explains to him that his past life is gone and now he is having a second chance. However he should never cross the boundaries of the location, otherwise he would die. Ben feels confused with the weird situation but he can not forget Lisa and Katie and forces Ezra to give a plausible explanation to him. But while working in the garden, Ben finds a frisby on the grass; he investigates and discloses the secret of the facility.

"The Lazarus Project" is an intriguing thriller with an original story and great acting of the talented Paul Walker and Piper Perabo. The plot has flaws, but is engaging, well constructed and it was a nice surprise for me. The twists do not surprise like, for example, the plot point of "Jacob's Ladder", but entertains and is reasonably tight. The politically correct conclusion is commercial and corny, reducing the impact of the good story, but works reasonably well. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Entre a Vida e a Morte" ("Between the Life and the Death")

Uncle Sam will take care of you!

[jan-862 · 7/10 · 18 October 2008]

I didn't think too much of this movie after reading the plot, but fortunately there are these pleasant surprises. Although the story is very thin, I think the acting is great. Paul Walker, whom I did not know before, is very convincing and so are the other characters. The movie is a bit dark, gloomy and sometimes you will feel lost, just like the main character. Bob Gunton is great as a priest, you will love him as you love your granddad. Don't be surprised that you will hardly find a reference from the title to the actual story. I will have to see the movie again to find out if there is one. But one thing is very clear, this is a must see if you prefer acting above action.

Why give away the ending so early on?

[fedor8 · 17 March 2009]

What TLP has going for it is the moody photography and the deliberately slow pace (which morons might interpret as "dull"). The main problem is that we're informed straight away - through Walker's flashbacks - that he'd been spared execution and given a new identity. Hence there was never any true dilemma as to how the film would end. Toward the end there was a brief attempt to sidetrack the viewer into thinking that Walker's past wasn't what we thought it was, but that quickly fizzled out, and not much later does he escape the premises (with absurd ease - don't they know he is a master-burglar?).

Far more ridiculous than Walker's leisurely escape is the premise. Given a supernatural twist, I'd be willing to overlook almost any nonsense, but because the story contains nothing out of the ordinary we are left with an idea that doesn't hold any water, no matter from which angle one looks at it. Why would the government, ANY government, waste that many resources on rehabilitating a handful of hardcore criminals? Why would they risk so much to help a few psychopaths and misfits, nearly all of them murderers? Why the hell would they be sent off to a remote town from which they could leave any time they choose?

In the last scene, Walker's wife, upon seeing that he is alive, reacts as if he'd been away for a business weekend. Not very realistic... Perhaps she's had several husbands before Walker, all of whom were convicted murderers, all of which escaped the Lazarus Project and came back to her... Perhaps she just thought: "Yep, he's back. I knew it. Those Lazarus staffers are so incompetent."

Lazarus of Oregon.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 13 July 2014]

The Lazarus Project is directed by John Patrick Glen, who also co-writes the screenplay with Evan Astrowsky. It stars Paul Walker, Linda Cardellini, Piper Perabo, Bob Gunton, Malcolm Goodwin and Tony Curran. Music is by Brian Tyler and cinematography by Jerzy Zielinski.

A reformed criminal out on parole is beset by bad luck and finds himself sentenced to die by lethal injection. Strange then that once the lethal dose is administered, he wakes up working as a grounds-keeper at a psychiatric hospital…

John Glen's first directing assignment is very much a mixed bag, but if landing in the DVD/Blu-ray players of the right audience it could well gain some momentum in the wake of Walker's untimely death.

It's one of those films that operates at a funereal pace and thrives on other worldly atmosphere. After the introductions to the main character and his psychological make-up is out the way, pic shifts into a realm where we, as well as Walker's character, are never sure what is real or what is going on. Is he in some afterlife place? Is it all in his head? A dream? Drug induced? And etc. One of the smart things about the movie is that it binds the audience to the mystery by asking us to fill in the gaps with our own logic. While crucially the reveal comes at the right time so as to give us viewers the opportunity to re-evaluate the various quandaries that the piece has thrown up.

For those who like films like Jacob's Ladder, Shutter Island, The Jacket et al, then this has to be at the very least of interest, to warrant the chance to sell itself to those particular sub-genre fans, besides which, it also shows a string to Walker's acting bow that was rarely tapped into by other directors. And it's beautifully shot by Zielinski too. Contemplative, intriguing and even chilling as regards the various themes it deals with, this Lazarus deserves its own second coming. 7/10

I'll be honest, It's no Inception, Shutter Island or 12 Monkeys But It's not Bad!

[A-Shekhar · 6/10 · 28 December 2018]

Slow? - Nope! Bad Story? - Not at all Could they have done better? I feel So, Yes they could have Should you watch it? Absolutely!

Great as a concept, delivery falls flat

[evmill · 6/10 · 15 March 2009]

The concept behind this is great: an executed convict that is somehow alive, an eerie town, a weird angel figure and a dog that keeps digging some place. Unfortunately, it all goes wrong.

I'll start with the ending. Forget the cheese, I just love the range of emotions of the wife. "Oh, sure honey you've decided to do something stupid and criminal again, leaving me to raise our kid alone, but I'm not mad at you. Nor am I particularly shocked to see you turning up at my door." Oh well, she is blonde...

Which swiftly takes us to the organization responsible for all this mess. Sure, they're running a place full of folk who got done for murder one... But fences? OK, forget the fences, how about a password for the old PC? I mean it's only secret files you're holding there, c'mon.

There's more, but I think I'm just bound to throw up if I go on, so I'll just add that around the middle you do get the feeling that the explanation is going to be somehow mundane, and boy you're not in for a surprise.

6, on the account of the concept.

A little half baked, but not bad.

[lagriff05 · 7/10 · 26 August 2009]

Decent low budget thriller that somewhat resembles Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island, of which a movie is also being made soon. Frankly, I'd rather watch that, but this is alright. There's nothing really gripping here, but the movie keeps your interest all the way through - albeit at times at the false assumption that it's building up to something truly horrifying, which it never does. But it's still quite interesting and you can tell they were really trying to make a good movie. They almost succeeded, if not for the truly wretched dialogue between the main character and this lady he meets. Good god, have these people EVER talked to a girl in their lives? In fact, all of the dialogue is pretty damn mediocre; you can tell the same person wrote it all because every character speaks the same way!

Oh well, aside from that, this movie is alright.

Ridiculous concept

[pepekwa · 2/10 · 30 January 2011]

One of my favorite films is the Assassin,where a convicted killer is spared death only if she agrees to train and become an assassin for the government. If she refuses, she gets a bullet in the head as was originally intended. A tad preposterous but at least there's a point.

Here, we're meant to believe a man is not given a lethal injection as intended but sent to work as a groundskeeper at a facility where he is not under lock and key but told to just forget about his family which at the end of the day is his point of existence! All this so a priest/father can try and change his mindset, I would have loved to have seen the father convincing the Texas authorities to keep him alive for that purpose, that SHOULD have been the movie! And when he does get on the bus to try and go see them, the "guide" tells him not to and he just walks off the bus and doesn't try again. Then at the end, when he does go back to Texas to see them, his wife welcomes her dead husband like he's just come back from a business trip. And, of course the authorities made no attempt to stop this "dead" man return home. If you can get past these gigantic plot holes and poorly conceived ideas, I guess there's a half decent film in there but for me, zero credibility means it has no point.

I am amazed at how many people didn't understand this film... it was so simple...

[matthewworsley · 7/10 · 10 December 2013]

Basically everything after his execution was his little girls dream... U don't know it until literally the last 30seconds of the film. It finished with the girl fast asleep on the sofa and she even says I dream of daddy living in the forest etc... So if the whole film had been true she couldn't have possibly known this... It was all in the girls head , she missed her father. Over quite a good film even if the sorry was a little over complicated for a small girls dream. Perhaps not Paul walkers best work (not that he had much if any anyway) but I'd still recommend it. Other character were okay although the implant they had in their arms was never properly explained as to what it was for, come to think of there were quite a few holes in the story...

No. Just No.

[dutchchocolatecake · 2/10 · 9 July 2012]

This is one of the worst movies I have seen in a long time. This movie was nowhere near worth the eight dollars and hour and a half of my life spent on it.

Where do I begin? Had this been a Lifetime movie, people would see just how crappy this movie really is. It really is *just* like one of those cheesy late night flicks on LMN pick-a-flick weekends.

The acting is competent, but that doesn't save the characters or story from poor writing. For a "psychological thriller" there is no depth or speck of imagination to be found. This kind of movie has been done several times in several different ways, and this version just happens to be more yawn worthy than most.

The characters are bland. Everyone is so perfectly two dimensional there's no challenge for the audience to engage in complexity of personality whatsoever.

This is a movie that tries to be more than it can. It tries to be a thriller, but the scenes are boring rather than creepy or intriguing. It tries to be a mystery, but everything is so obvious it can't be. It tries to be a suspenseful conspiracy, but it ends up falling on it's anticlimactic face with a saccharine sweet ending.

And rather than having a story that establishes a realistic situation in the beginning; the viewer is taken immediately to some bizarre parallel universe where men who don't carry guns are convicted and executed for the crimes of trigger happy cops. This same bizarre universe includes a newspaper that prints false stories, a dog named "dog," a psychiatric facility that gives entry level inmates complete run of the place, and a staff in charge so weak willed and unprepared for the event that an inmate of average intelligence figures out bullcrap for what it is.

There are some movies that succeed because they're just plain weird. There's some movies that succeed because they're just mindless entertainment. There's some movies that succeed because they can evoke a wide range of emotion within the audience. This movie FAILS on all those levels, and more.

Derivative but highly watchable psycho-drama

[bob_gilmore1 · 8/10 · 24 October 2008]

After facing lethal injection for a multiple murder that he happened to be the only survivor of, our hero awakens to find that he is the grounds keeper at a mental hospital for priests deep in the forests of Oregon. He faces the normal confusion that would be expected by such a turn of events but actually starts to get used to this second chance at life even though he has been told by a visionary figure that he can not ever return to his old life with his wife and child. Things really start getting weird after that.

While the film is sharply derivative of many other better films ranging from "The Shining" to "Jacob's Ladder" it gets by and remains entertaining because it is the type of film that hits it's modest targets squarely on. The pacing is not exactly brisk so if you require your movies to keep you awake and alert then this might not be the DVD rental for you but this psychological drama is definitely worth a rental especially if you like this type of stuff

Interesting, somewhat intriguing film

[jaybob · 7/10 · 6 January 2009]

This really is a 'b-movie', The plot is in fact somewhat like the b-movies of yesteryear. One major difference is the running time. 50-70 years back this would have been on a double bill with a 70-75 minute running time, THE LAZURUS PROJECT runs 100 minutes.

The script by John Glenn (he wrote Eagle Eye) is somewhat confusing, we just do not know which scenes are real & which are imagination. This was also John Glenn's first directorial effort, Its OK for a first effort.

The star is Paul Walker, he too does well,he has a limited acting range & this role suits him. The rest of the cast has many familiar faces & they do OK as well..

I must signal out one actor Malcolm Goodwin as Bobby. his portrayal of a disturbed young man is very good, I would have liked to see more of him.

This movie had no theatrical run, it was released direct to DVD. This is very prevalent nowadays to release films direct to DVD. if the box-office potential is nil.

It was made in Manitoba Canada (subbing for Oregon) it is a well made film, not great but a serviceable DVD rental.

Ratings: **1/2 (out of 4) 79 points (out of 100)* IMDb 7 (out of 10_

* Just misses a *** rating

Swiss cheese

[Ismaninb · 4/10 · 11 October 2008]

To summarize: good acting, beautiful camera-work, lousy story with holes as big as in swiss cheese. To name a few: Ben gets the capital punishment for a robbery gone wrong, while he even did not wear a weapon. The evil shrink applies a program that violates a few laws but does not protect the computer on which the patient data are stored. We see a female psychiatrist being so unprofessional to make overtures to a patient - fortunately no sex involved. The evil shrink and his staff try to convince Ben that all this has been fantasy and hallucination. Still it takes Ben no effort at all to refind his dog in the nearest asylum. Somehow the movie managed a grip on me strong enough to sit through it to the cheesy end, but the main feeling afterwards is annoyance.

A hell of a lot better than Shutter Island

[krycek19 · 7/10 · 3 March 2016]

This film is similar in the plot like Shutter Island that came two years later. The difference is that this movie is a lot better. And I'm guessing Scorsese was greatly inspired by this movie. Only this wasn't a Scorsese picture with Leonardo Di Caprio in it so nobody noticed this.

Some of the best acting from the late Paul Walker. Those of you who thinks he was just a pretty face, watch this.

I don't wanna give away too much, except to say that the ending of this movie is a lot more satisfying than the stupid twist and ending of Shutter Island.

Another difference is that this movie is very quiet in it's pace and it doesn't try so hard to come off as a horror movie like the moronic Shutter Island, because it doesn't need to.

I definitely recommend this movie. And if you haven't seen either this or Shutter Island, watch this and pretend Shutter Island don't excist.

Looking good

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 28 June 2010]

The story tries to be very clever. And if you read a few reviews here, it either works or it doesn't. That does remain in the eye of the beholder. Which would be you (if you are still interested in watching the movie). And while this is a "psychological" movie (emphasis on psychological), the story twists, will either leave you yearning for more or shaking your head, because you think this completely ridiculous.

While there is no doubt you can argue about that, I think almost everyone agrees that Piper P. looks amazing ... ;o) Seriously though: I think almost everyone here agrees that the photography of the movie is really great! And while you might not like the story, maybe this will give you something back.

Could have been an excellent movie!

[bdk52156 · 7/10 · 13 March 2009]

For an hour and 20 minutes this was a very good movie. Unfortunately the movie is an hour and 35 minutes long. The acting was very strong, the plot kept you wondering what was really going on, and you really wanted to see where this movie was going. Unfortunately, that's when Hollywood got their hands on it and made it a "happily ever after" movie. The last 15 minutes you just wanted to yell at someone because you were completely ripped off. I will not give away any of the plot or twists but the writer/director should have stood by his guns and given this gritty suspense thriller the ending it really deserved. It is so sad that in todays world, movies have to, so many times, fall back onto an old formula that says there are no bad things in the world and everyone lives happily ever after.

Interesting Movie

[ru1041 · 7/10 · 2 May 2014]

This is one of those movies that keep you guessing and/or confused up till the end. It could have gone either way, good or bad. You are led to believe one thing is happening (purgatory), then that something completely different is happening (mental illness) and in the last few minutes a whole different truth is reveled. In the end, I was glad to see that everything came together and the movie made sense. Although there may be a few holes in the story, I feel it was well done and thought provoking. I didn't think that it was boring or slow. The acting was acceptable. Overall I feel it was a good movie that leaves you with something to think about. Well worth a watch.

Very Slow; Huge Plot Holes

[seer0 · 2/10 · 26 May 2012]

This is a terrible movie. Sorry about the spoilers, but I need them to point out the huge plot holes: 1. Convicted of murder -- He and his cohorts had no weapons, he wasn't even in the room when gunfire went off, and the only ones to do the shooting (and killing) were the cops. Even if he's considered an accomplice, no one was murdered; they were all killed by cops. OK, it was Texas, so perhaps he had some marijuana on him.

2. After his "lethal" injection, we next see him on a road in Oregon, and a "priest" picks him up, asking him if he's the new grounds-keeper. He says he is. How did he get to Oregon? Or to this road? Let's say he was drugged and just placed on the road -- so how did he know he is the grounds-keeper? He never even asks anyone what they mean by he's being given a second chance.

3. He gets on a bus out of town to go back to his family. Some stranger tells him that if he stays on the bus he will die. Even though he wants to see his family more than anything, he gets off the bus because of what the stranger says.

4. Near the end, the doctor explains how this is a program to rehabilitate violent murders. We've already seen that he wasn't even a murderer, but he also had no history at all of violence. So of the thousands of violent murderers they could have chosen, they picked him, who needed no rehabilitation anyway?

5. They let him go when he says he mailed the info on the project to "someone," and they will be exposed if they don't let him go. So they let him go??? Don't they think it's a bigger risk to have him walking around blabbing his mouth off?

6. He returns home, and his wife goes out to give him a hug. No questions about if he's ghost, or a clone, or whatever, just a hug. And, really, how are they going to explain to the authorities (not to mention friends and family) why a convicted, executed murderer is back living with his family?

All of the above "action" takes up about 10 minutes of the film. The rest of the time is used for shots of him thinking. Or walking slowly. Or having a coffee. Or giving one-word answers to questions.

A terrible, terrible movie. 2 stars because the acting was OK, and the direction and cinematography was not as bad as the plot.

Very good.

[alum-3 · 7/10 · 16 November 2019]

Don't know how I missed this one. Paul keeps you interested throughout the whole movie. Very underrated actor, imo. Worth a watch!

Slow story, weak twists, good acting

[herve-14 · 4/10 · 12 October 2008]

The base story was interesting: a criminal given a second chance at a decent life. Unfortunately the whole plot moves very slowly and it comes with quite a few things that do not seem very likely. After 35 minutes, I was still wondering where this was going. Paul Walker is performing as usual and I was surprised to see Lambert Wilson having such a small part in the movie. Overall I would say that the performance of the actors was what made the movie watchable till the end. Without those actors I would have stopped watching this movie. The director did a decent work, but unfortunately based on a weak plot, with unlikely twists and slow story. I would not recommend going to the theater to watch this movie, DVD release is quite enough.

This movie is slow????

[Souvik · 8/10 · 20 October 2008]

The different posts and reviews for this movie has one thing in common. They all say its a slow-paced movie. And thats what made me write this review. I will not dwell much on the story because the story itself is the main interest in this film. Rather, I would just discuss the so called 'slowness' of the film. For the people who said this is slow: What did you expect? A 10 min long movie? This movie is not slow. Period. The film is very well paced and fast. I did not find a frame in the movie to get up from my seat or even blink. Thats how fast this movie is. I do not really understand the understandings of cine-lovers when they say its not a well paced film. Really! Watch this movie. A great movie with a great storyline. Hollywood had started to getting boring the last few months and this movie breaks that numbness. Another great thriller. 8/10, Undoubtedly.

Mind breaker

[euandaley · 7/10 · 8 October 2018]

A film full of twists and turns that genuinely are unforeseen and executed fantastically, Paul Walker provides an outstanding performances as he envelops and expresses the very frustration and confusion laced with misguided anger the audience feels throughout the film as your mind is placed on edge awaiting the next turn of events, another overlooked film that stands on its own as a brilliant piece

Unbelievable

[kelokay-1 · 4/10 · 23 October 2008]

Is he alive? Is he dead? Is he in Oregon? Is it Hell? Good acting which keeps you caring just enough. That and a curiosity in just how its going to pull together in the end. It does not. I was ready to accept Angels/Demons and maybe a sixth sense kind of ending. What I could not accept was a convicted criminal "executed" for a botched robbery, going home to his wife at the end as if it was all OK. Like the Police and Media wouldn't have a fit over that, not to mention his wife.Then you have to ask yourself just who thought it a good idea, and then had the power, to fake executions and leave the criminals in some town in Oregon with little or no supervision, give them a car, internet access, telephone, mail etc. Even the Democrats would Balk at that.

Depends on the audience buying into a great deception.

[TxMike · 25 July 2009]

Paul Walker is Ben Garvey, just finishing his parole obligation from a burglary. But he has a good job in a brewery, shows good work ethic and leadership, and is happily married with a wife and young daughter. Piper Perabo is his wife Lisa Garvey and cute Brooklynn Proulx is his daughter Katie.

A new brewery is opening up and Ben feels he is the logical candidate to run it, and his supervisor is a supporter of his. Unexpectedly his younger brother comes to visit, fresh out of prison himself, talking about a sure-fire "opportunity" to heist some gold from a loosely guarded manufacturing plant for high performance electronic components. But Ben wants no part of it, he has a good life and wants to stay out of prison. But there is another factor, his brother explains, which makes the offer hard to refuse.

The plot depends on a grand deception, some will buy it and others will not. When it is all said and done, the payoff is not that great, but it is entertaining enough to hold the interest of most viewers.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW: Ben's brother is in debt and says he will die if they don't pull off the job, right away. The same day that Ben finds out he is fired because the owners do a background check and with his record don't want him anymore. So, hit by life with a 2X4, he chooses to help his brother, but insists no guns. The heist goes bad, 3 people including his brother die, and set in Texas Ben is shortly up for execution. At 22 minutes we see him apparently die by injection. But then we see him walking, in Oregon, and he finds clues and persons he believes are angels that convince him he has been raised from dead to be given a second chance. But he cannot leave or look up his family as that will be certain death. The ruse is run at a seminary by Bob Gunton (of Shawshank warden fame!!) as Father Ezra, whose "Lazarus Project" is to rehabilitate criminals. But Ben eventually breaks the ruse and by downloading incriminating information onto a jump drive then mailing it to his wife's address writes his ticket to freedom, since the world thinks he is dead. The movie ends with his coming home and embracing his wife.