The new not-so-horror film “The Lazarus Effect” hit theaters at the end of last month. Unlike the resurrected characters in the film, the movie itself would best be left as dead.
The cast of the film is filled with promise—Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Evan Peters and Donald Glover (better known as Childish Gambino) all play main roles in the 83-minute movie.
Duplass and Wilde play Frank Walton and Zoe McConnell, an engaged couple who is working together to develop the Lazarus serum, a medication that will bring people back from the dead. They, along with Clay (Peters), Niko (Glover) and Eva (Sarah Bolger) spend most of their days in a dark lab trying to bring dead animals back to life.
Early on in the movie, they successfully bring back a dead dog, which begins exhibiting strange behavior. The dog’s former cataracts disappear, he won’t eat and the Lazarus serum remains in his brain, even though it was supposed to disappear after a few hours.
The dean of the university that is sponsoring the experiment finds out what they are actually doing and shuts the project down. A pharmaceutical corporation buys out the company that funded the team’s research, and they come into the lab and take all of the equipment and the footage that the team has built for years.
Naturally, the scientists are upset. They’ve spent years of their lives working on this experiment, and now everything for which they’ve worked is gone. So, of course, they resolve to make a stupid decision that only happens in movies: sneaking into the lab at night to attempt to duplicate the experiment.
Obviously, something bad is going to come out of their actions, and that something is the death of McConnell. While flipping a switch to get the serum going, she is electrocuted and dies instantly. The four members of the team still standing begin to panic, but Duplass gets a look in his eyes that lets audience members know the promised story of a resurrection gone wrong is about to unfold.
Duplass, and with a little persuasion, the rest of the group, attempt to bring McConnell back from the dead with the help of the serum. Surprise! It works, and McConnell goes to hell (literally) and back in a matter of 10 minutes.
The idea for this film had promise. It used the popular horror element of possession and twisted it so the story wasn’t just about an average family being haunted by the demon in their son’s bedroom. The movie could have been great, but the lack of exciting cinematography and lazy writing turned the film into a flop.
Peters, the favored heartthrob of teenage girls from the “American Horror Story” franchise, delivered an engaging performance in the film. Similar to his character in the first season of AHS, Tate Langdon, he had a soft side infused with awkward humor, but his violent nature wasn’t buried deep. His character, maybe the most dynamic, showed an array of emotions that helped give the film some substance.
Lazarus has earned $23.6 million at the box office as of March 17. Its dependence on loud noises and things popping out without warning made the movie unoriginal and predictable. The film has a few scenes that could make people jump if they aren’t prepared, but overall, the film is dry and will leave audience members unsatisfied.
kolbee14@bonaventure.edu
