The Lazarus Effect (2015) User Reviews

Never quite makes up its mind what story to tell

[avdropm-944-921852 · 4/10 · 21 March 2015]

Any five to ten minute excerpt from this movie could easily lead a viewer to conclude that this is a well made horror or suspense thriller. The production values are high, the performances good, and so on.

The problem is that the parts of the film don't fit together. The sequence of action has the usual slow build and accelerating pace of any good thriller, but while the set-up is promising, and the events proceed logically enough as interesting and sympathetic characters are frightened, threatened or killed off, the reasons underlying the events remain obscure.

Hints and suggestive exposition are introduced, and then forgotten. There are explicit references to religious-themed horror fantasy, speculative science, and even a few elements of a possible conspiracy. An elaborate backstory is gradually revealed, and then abruptly dismissed. The conclusion doesn't really conclude anything: there's a decisive ending, but no resolution, no revelation, not even a clear idea of the probable consequences.

It's possible a re-edit could address these issues and make it a decent film. As it stands, though, it just doesn't work.

science fiction/horror thriller seems like a mash-up of Flatliners and Lucy

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 10 November 2020]

TA group of scientists led by romantic couple Mark Duplass and Olivia Wilde are working on a project to briefly restore brain function in clinically dead patients in hopes of allowing medical professionals longer time to work on critical patients. Their experiments seem to work better than expected when a revived dog continues to live long after the effect of its treatment should have worn off. When a laboratory accident electrocutes one of their own, the others decide to use the technique on the deceased, with seeming success. But they soon realize that something is not quite right with their colleague.

The movie has some style, and some creepy moments, but it works better when the story flirts with how guilt and religion can effect one's psyche in positive and negative ways. The cast is fine, although it was odd seeing the usually funny Duplass in a straight-faced role.

The Lazarus Effect

[abouhelier-r · 6/10 · 15 March 2015]

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.

Disappointing and unoriginal

[lnvicta · 3/10 · 15 May 2015]

I really wanted The Lazarus Effect to be good. It has a great cast and an interesting premise, and I love horror movies so why should this be any different? Well first of all calling it a horror movie is a bit of a stretch. Yeah, there are "scares" but they're all the cliché flickering lights, someone coming up behind someone else's back, fake out, cheap ass easy jump scares that we've seen a million times and you can see them coming from a mile away.

The best thing this movie has going for it is its atmosphere. It all takes place in an empty laboratory and there are some moments where you feel the claustrophobia of being trapped in a place where dead bodies are kept and weird surgical instruments all over the place. But none of that psychological horror is expounded on. It's just like one second I'm like, "hm, this could actually go somewhere" and then two seconds later a freaky face pops on screen and it's like ugh, why bother.

The acting in this movie is fine for what it is. Aside from the two leads, Evan Peters was the only character I cared about because he was the comic relief but he just isn't given enough to work with. Everything about the movie feels rushed. The characters aren't developed enough. The movie is barely 80 minutes long and it still has dull moments. It also borrows a lot of elements from other horror movies. A good chunk of the movie is straight up "Event Horizon" in a laboratory with some "The Shining" and "Lucy" sprinkled here and there. Sure there is some creepy imagery but it's stuff we've seen a million times. If they had actually built up tension instead of relying on stupid jump scares then maybe the imagery would have some effect. As it stands, it's just like... what a waste.

I can't give this movie a lower score because it did have potential and I liked the cast. There are some moments that are admittedly cool, however brief they are. Oh, and none of the movie makes sense. It starts off plausibly with these doctors performing weird experiments but as soon as sh*t starts to go down, any sense of realism goes out the window. The Lazarus Effect isn't terrible - there's just no reason to see it. Go see "Event Horizon" or "The Shining" if you're in the mood for some real psychological scares.

This is not a 5! It's better

[Finfrosk86 · 7/10 · 31 May 2015]

Like I said in my Wild Card review, sometimes I don't get why movies get such low ratings on here. I have seen plenty of movies that deserves a 5 or lower, this is not one of them.

This movie is short and sweet. It is entertaining, never boring, cool stuff happens, actors are good. I got certain Hollow Man vibes.. A team is working on some amazing stuff, and the environments (labs and such) are just nice and cozy.

I don't think The Lazarus Effect was meant to be a big, thought provoking masterpiece, it was meant as a short and entertaining horror flick. And it is exactly that. It's got a couple of actors we've seen before, (including the very cute Olivia Wilde) which always helps in this kind of horror quick fix.

So, to sum up, don't expect very big things, expect a couple of jump scares, a nicely paced plot, decent effects.. It's just easily seen. (translated directly from Norwegian: 'lettsett')

Schlocky Horror films are the best kind of Horror films.

[Drive-in_Zeppelin · 4/10 · 26 February 2015]

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

It has good ideas, but fails to realise them.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 4/10 · 6 April 2019]

Sadly this is an ultimately unrewarding film, to read the plot, you'd be forgiven for expecting something dark, original and interesting, when in reality it's generic, flat, and badly realised.

The production values are a little poor, and the storytelling is disjointed, lacks any sort of core plot, at times it seemed to make no sense.

A few times they could have gone for real scares and horror, sadly no such moments ever happened. The dog could have been good.

Quite poor. 4/10

Decent but I saw a lot more opportunity for the film

[sarah-haverty · 7/10 · 6 April 2015]

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.

A Few Interesting Ideas Ruined by Poor Execution

[Michael_Elliott · 24 October 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.

Another Hollywood Produced Horror Film Ruining the Genre

[MattBirk · 3/10 · 7 March 2015]

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!

Would not recommend

[vkochladze · 2/10 · 16 April 2015]

I've long stopped going to horror movies expecting to get scared, or see anything remotely decent. Instead I view them as comedy movies, trying to entertain myself by how bad the films are, so it's pretty safe to say my expectations when seeing a horror movie are about as low as it gets and yet "The Lazarus Effect" still left me astonished by just how bad, uninteresting and not even remotely scary it was. There was nothing new or unique about the movie, and literally the only aspect of the movie that could be considered scary (if you're not already desensitized to those, like most people) were the jump scares, and even those were predictable.

I've been disappointed by a lot of movies, but this is thee first time it was bad enough that I actually took the time to write out a review.

Nothing new here...... SKIP this one

[stephendaxter · 3/10 · 15 May 2015]

The Lazarus Effect is a horror film that deals with a serum that can bring animals and people to life, but something is a little off when they do return and weird stuff starts to happen, well, weird stuff starts to happen around 45 minutes into this 1 hour and 20 minute movie. I thought that after seeing the runtime this movie was going to get into the horror elements quickly and sustain that right until the end as the trailer looked promising. Although the majority of the film is spent in a lab running tests on animals and boring and lengthy discussions about making the serum work and crap that we really don't care about. One of the biggest problems is that this movie tried to do too much above being a horror movie and as a result had no time for any scary moments. The movie was unoriginal with predictable scares that really failed to creep me out at all. Just when you think that the horror elements are coming into the film in the last act, they never really do, a couple of jump-scare moments that are predictable make up the only horror elements of the film and the last 30 minutes feel just not intense at all. The whole film lacks interest, you don't care for the first 45 minutes and then when something finally happens it is all things you have seen before and you still don't care.

Now i will say the highlight of the film is the cast, with Olivia Wilde, Danny Glover, Even Peters, Sarah Bolger and Mark Duplass they all put in some good (not great) performances that make the film still bearable to watch. Just, the film had an interesting synopsis and good actors but thats it, the crappy writing and crappy directing make this film just overall very dull and boring. They even have some minor subplot that they carry out right through the film for some "big" reveal that made absolutely no difference to anything and didn't change the way you perceive the character because you don't care. And the ending, well, also predictable, dumb, and made the whole movie suck even more. In the end this "horror" movie had potential but was wasted in every way imaginable, this is why the horror genre is hated so much; because of crap like this. - 3.2

OK lower budget horror.

[TdSmth5 · 6/10 · 5 July 2015]

A team of researchers discovers a serum that can wake the dead. They try it out on a dead dog and sure enough it comes to life, a bit in a bad mood more but nonetheless. Then the university shuts down the program and a corporation takes over and grabs all their research.

They decide to break into the lab and recreate the experiment by resurrecting another dog, this time around with a girl who gets to film everything. When Zoe, one of the doctors, flips on the switch she's electrocuted and dies. Her fiancée can't accept it so he decides to experiment on her and see if he can reanimate her. Sure enough, she also comes back but also not particularly thankful.

There's also something else going on with Zoe. When she was a little girl, she witnessed a room-full of people burn to death when the apartment caught fire and she couldn't help them. She's been traumatized by the experience till now. Slowly though, she starts developing powers. She can complete other people's sentences, she develops telekinesis. And eventually she starts killing her team mates. Of course she takes out the power so it's all dark. The survivors will try to battle her.

At some point the camera girl is taken to the event of the burning apartment and there's a neat revelation.

The Lazarus Effect is a short horror movie with a good premise and the lovely Olivia Wilde. One bit of science was pretty intriguing. But from there things go by the numbers--no lights, people confined in one or two rooms, no character to care for, no interesting dialogue. The movie is well-directed although clearly they could and should have done more with the story.

Olivia Wilde's beauty is the only thing holding this back from a one-star rating

[darkreignn · 2/10 · 15 May 2023]

I was in college when "The Lazarus Effect" released, and for one reason or another, I never got around to watching the film. Eight years and two double shots of vodka later, I found myself scrolling through Amazon Prime one fateful night (May 14, 2023) trying to find something to watch, and I see that "The Lazarus Effect" is free. Huzzah! Seemingly the Gods have answered my prayers, and feeling appropriately tipsy, I settled in, got under some blankets, and clicked "Play." Talk about the biggest mistake of my life.

Wow, wow, and I must say again: Wow. "The Lazarus Effect" is about "a group of medical researchers discover a way to bring dead patients back to life." It's an asinine, ridiculous concept, but starring the beautiful Olivia Wilde, as well as Mark Duplass - a personal favorite actor of mine - I figured that the movie would work, at the very least, as a vessel for dumb fun. That couldn't be further from the truth, as "fun" is nowhere in this film's vocabulary. So, let's talk about its sins.

"The Lazarus Effect" is a mercifully short film at 83 minutes, thank the Lord. And with such a small runtime, you'd think that the movie would move at a brisk pace, being full of all the horror shenanigans that one could ever want. "Ha!", the movie seems to laugh in our face. "Ha!" Because, this film is neither quickly paced nor scary. With a whopping 38 minutes going by before the so-called horror actually takes place - by that point coming too little, too late, as the movie is, by all intents and purposes, almost over. So, whenever Olivia Wilde comes back from the dead, maybe possessed or maybe just evil, you won't find yourself caring about what happens next because the movie took way too long to get to that part.

How are the scares? Nonexistent. With cheap jump scares, generic visuals, and bloodless kills, the movie boasts an incredibly boring and by-the-numbers layout that we have all seen done before in much better films. And with all of that said, I'm done writing about this movie: I do not recommend "The Lazarus Effect," and I regret sitting down to watch it, and the only reason it gets two stars out of one is because of how beautiful Olivia Wilde is.

Very Solid, Very Original

[jparker9899 · 7/10 · 27 February 2015]

Most Blumhosue produced films are utter trash(Jessabelle, The Purge, etc.) and I'm a big horror fan so this movie caught my eye. And I wasn't disappointed at all. Going in with an open mind, what I really liked about the film was that it didn't move into demonic territory to provide cheap scares. Sure, some pop up scares were cliché, but they didn't have to use demons to make the film creepy. Olivia Wilde is fantastic in her role, as is Evan Peters. The film also has a solid story, and borrows elements from Pet Semetary, The Shining, and Lucy(yes it makes sense). Without losing the plot in itself like recents like Project Almanac, it sticks to a meaningful script, and provides fun, campy scares. It wasn't golden, nor is it a new classic, but it's a brisk fun way to lose yourself in the macabre. It's also one of the better recent horror films. Defiantly recommend this, and I hope my review has helped!

Flatliners and Pet Sematary had a baby

[moderation19 · 4/10 · 23 November 2021]

It's pretty interesting most of the way through but then ends like the writer got drunk while trying to write a twist ending. It teases like there's going to be some sort of redemption for a character then betrays that idea for no real reason.

All in all, it's one of those movies that you don't mind watching once but have no real desire to see again.

very creepy...and edge of seat thriller

[marilyndean-47962 · 8/10 · 26 January 2016]

I love scary movies..but it takes a lot to creep me out...this one did just that. The story line was not very original (reminded me of Flatliners from the 90's)...but with a twist and more scares...it is a movie I suggest watching at night with the lights out. And then maybe sleep with a night light. Good movie with great acting. I would probably not buy it...but it is worth renting. I don't know why some people gave it such low votes, I really enjoyed it. I like movies that make me jump and look behind myself when I hear a noise. This movie did just that. I watched it alone..but you might want to watch it with a friend...cuz it really is creepy. ENJOY

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 22 December 2015]

I've seen so many movies I can no longer watch a movie without scanning through my mental catalog of films to find a similar match for what I'm watching at the time. The Lazarus Effect immediately brought to mind Flatliners. For the most part everything was the same except that Flatliners were trying to experience death whereas the students in The Lazarus Effect were trying to bring the dead back to life.

We all should know by now that whenever someone experiments with the dead and trying to bring them back to life--through whatever means--it never ends up well. The Lazarus Effect was no different.

I thought the movie was solid. It's classified as a horror and rightly so, but it really established itself as a serious and credible film by taking a scientific approach. This wasn't a case of mysticism, alien technology or demon possession. These were serious students trying to achieve a legitimate goal of temporarily bringing a person back from the dead so that medical professionals can save his/her life. The build-up was adequate and cohesive. The story made sense and didn't seem forced. Ultimately the goal was to scare you and there were enough dark flickering lights moments to do that as well.

I liked the movie. It's no theatrical masterpiece but it did have some originality and a good storyline. It looked as though there was some effort put into the movie and that's more than can be said for a lot of scary movies.

I actually saw the film at a screening yesterday.

[lilanawrocki · 3/10 · 26 February 2015]

Where to begin... Let's start with the Bible thumpers who've already written. This I find the most hilarious particularly after seeing the film. The lead character is in fact, surprise surprise, a Christian. So before you go all haywire with the "why are we glorifying evil comments" you might... I don't know... want to see what happens in the movie, because in many ways your arguments about death and should we mess with it are addressed. Moving on.... I have yet to find a horror film that really just does it for me. My biggest issues are the "Why the heck is that character doing that" sort of thing. This film, I found, was better than many at covering gaps- but it still had them. It followed a lot of the traditional horror genre camp but actors turned in an okay performance and I thought it had decent potential... it just didn't use it. The most consistently horrifying thing is just how much Zoe needs a chapstick... I guess the undead have super dry lips... But I digress. (although seriously it's that distracting, which is a shame because Olivia Wilde is actually half way decent- if someone gave her actual material to work with she'd probably ace it as she usually does) Often with this producer team I find that they have really clever horror film concepts, they just fall apart on the follow through. This film, more than any other they've made in my opinion, was basically just a set up for a franchise. It's fine- but you expect it, and in that respect it lacks any redeeming qualities to make it a good movie just on it's own. Mark Duplass is one of my favorite actors since "Safety Not Guaranteed" but he really feels like he's being forced to phone it in on this one. It doesn't feel like it's his fault, it just feels like poor writing. I'm giving it 3 stars for the occasional jump,some pretty nice visuals, and an interesting concept (even if the pay off wasn't there for me).

A passable terror/science fiction movie about researchers discover a way to bring dead patients back to life

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 26 March 2023]

This is a crossover that mixes the subgenre of scientific experiments carried out by a mad doctor along with fantasy and science-fiction resulting in fateful consequences . It follows a group of researchers led by Frank (Mark Duplass) and his fiancée, Zoe (Olivia Wilde) have developed a serum, code-named "Lazarus". It was intended to assist coma patients but is shown to actually be able to bring the dead back to life . As the group of medical researchers discover a way to bring dead patients back to life. After a successful, yet unsanctioned, trial on a newly deceased animal, the team is ready to unveil their breakthrough to the world. When the dean of their university learns of their underground experiments, their project is unexpectedly shut down and their materials confiscated. Frank, Zoe and their team take matters into their own hands, launching a rogue attempt to recreate their experiment, during which things go terribly wrong. Frank fueled by terror and grief , faces a series of bizarre, violent events caused by evil resurrection in one of the corpses . Initially, the procedure appears a success, but the team soon realizes something is wrong . As her strange new persona reveals itself, the team quickly becomes stuck in a gruesome reality. They are no longer faced with the question of whether they can bring someone back to life- but rather, the wrath of her return . Evil will rise !

Horror fairy tale , being consistently paced, finely played and with a lot of phenomena , blood , twists and turns . Weird terror movie that's heavy on creepy scenes with acceptable though completely interior production design , colorful cinematography and decent but no excessive special effects , incuding gruesomely vivid gore . The film blends Science-fiction/fantasy genre about some some scientists have achieved the unimaginable : bringing the dead back to life in relation to films as "Frankenstein" , "Pet Sematary" (1989), "Carrie" (2013), ¨Lucy" (2014) with Hospital or Morgue films , such as :¨André Øvreda's Autopsy of Jane Doe¨ , ¨Ole Bornedal's Nightwatch¨ or ¨Nattevagten¨and especially "Flatliners" (1990), taking bits and parts here and there , forming a strange potpourri that sometimes works . A twisted plot in which some scientists become involved into a supernatural intrigue resulting in plunging herself deeper and deeper towards a world of impossible occurrences and equally inexplicable findings , starting when one of their own is horrifically killed . Starred by ordinary comical actor Mark Duplass , here in a serious role, giving attractive acting as a scientist who pushes them to do the unthinkable: attempt to resurrect their first human test , while his girlfriend is the always beautiful Olivia Wilde . They are finely well accompanied by a notorious support cast , such as : Sarah Bolger , Evan Peters , Donald Glover , Ray Wise and Cory Aquino.

It contains adequate but dark cinematography by Michael Fimognari , as well as thrilling and suspenseful musical score by Sarah Schachner . The motion picture was competently directed by Diederik Van Rooijen. This is a good director with a short but interesting career with penchant for Chillers and Horror movies. He is a producer and writer, known for Wolfang (2021) , Machine (2019), Street Food: Asia (2019), a Chef's Table (2015), Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) , among others .Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable , passable and decent Terror movie , in spite of developing itself at limited interior scenarios. Well worth watching.

Complete Waste Of Talent

[nitro72 · 2/10 · 10 January 2019]

Complete waste of talent makes poor use of common horror/sci-fi elements (jump scares, atmospheric lighting, smart people doing stupid things) and provides no foundation for its outlandish conclusion; at least it was short.

Just a mediocre horror about science people playing God again.

[peterp-450-298716 · 4/10 · 14 July 2017]

"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

Good but should have been better!

[Zulfmanauthor · 7/10 · 31 August 2015]

There are many things to like about 'The Lazarus Effect' a sort of indie horror, which has borrowed parts of other movies especially 'Flatliners' but with more horror and less maturity. The film follows students of medicine who are trying to devise a technique where they can bring back people who have recently died by injecting them with a chemical that interacts with their brain. Their reasons are much different to the medics in 'Flatliners' and the results are more horrific. Good cast who create enough tension to keep the viewer hooked yet the film is disappointing because its ideas could have been explored further. Olivia Wilde is excellent as the first human subject yet her demise and climax of the movie seems rushed and gives you the impression the director ran out of budget or ideas. This may explain the film's short length however what we have is thrilling and creepy. But being a writer myself, I saw so much potential to this movie and know it could have been much better. On a positive note, the film exceeds the more hyped 'Lucy' as it also explores what happens if a greater part of our brain capacity could be utilised. @zulfmanauthor

Good, until she comes back from the dead

[kevin-38242 · 4/10 · 24 March 2016]

Given the title, I guess it's not much of a spoiler to give away that one of the characters comes back from the dead. This takes place about half-way through the movie and, until that point, it's quite good. Until then it's about a bunch of young, feckless medical researchers (with whom I identify, as I was one myself back in the day) trying to carry out ground-breaking and unorthodox experiments in the face of opposition from their institution and exploitation from their sponsors. Sounds vaguely familiar, in fact.

The experiments involve reanimation, and there are some mildly interesting philosophical discussions about life and death and all the rest of it, although they aren't developed as thoroughly as they might have been. The dialogue is believable (although the science is a bit jumbled) and the acting convincing.

Then one of the characters comes back to life, and the whole thing goes to pieces. How that character behaves thereafter has no connection to the earlier scenes. Although there is plenty of creepy material, and a few genuinely scary moments, it all seems pretty formulaic after this point.

In short -- watch the first half, and then the last five minutes. The rest of the movie has little you haven't seen before.

Better tagline: The door doesn't close til something goes through

[mohancraig · 9/10 · 27 February 2015]

People who've seen the movie will understand the my tagline suggestion, I was interested in seeing this the first time I saw the trailer on YouTube where "big surprise" 95% of the comments were from wackos claiming the film was "Blasphemous".... well I'm here to tell you it is safe to watch and there is no blaspheming occurring in this film; what's more if you like movies about evil being unleashed as I do you will likely enjoy this film.

The movie is short (83 minutes) which is fine by me because I don't like movies that are slow to get started or full of pointless gimmicks, there isn't a lot of character development except for the main character (Olivia Wilde) and other than Donald Glover I really don't care too much about what happens to rest of the cast but it was suspenseful although it does rely on some typical horror movie clichés.

I gave it 9 stars because there were moments when I was genuinely scared in the sense that I would hate to be in that persons situation at this point... what would I do? Also this is the type of film I'd like to see more of, I think the last movie I saw with evil incarnate that kind of shook me was Devil by M. Night Shyamalan and that was 5 years ago; Cabin in the woods was good too but it had more camp value than genuine evil affectionate draw.

I hope this film does well and as it is left intentionally open ended I can see how it could make it to the sequel stage which leaves me hopeful although lately sequels to some great first release films have been crashing and burning like Hotub time machine and Horrible bosses... I will remain hopeful ^_^