Yet another movie that has a bunch of normally comedic actors in it doing the horror thing. Lazarus Effect attempts to scare you with a twist on a familiar scientific theory.
In 2011 Bradley Cooper starred in a movie called “Limitless”. It was about a man that is given a pill that unlocks the true power of the brain. He is able to use 100% of his brain at once, not just the 10% normal humans use. He becomes super smart, can do all kinds of things that normal people can’t really do. Basically he becomes Rain Man. The Lazarus Effect is basically the same movie, only instead of getting a pill to make you super smart, it brings someone back to life and the chemical used causes them to become Jean Grey’s “Phoenix”… but I’m getting ahead of myself.
A group of scientists at It Doesn’t Really Matter University are working on a chemical that can pretty much raise the dead. The chemical was initially created so that patients in dire need of medical attention can continue to live, albeit in an altered state, so that doctors and physicians can operate on them to save their lives. The research team of Frank and his fiance Zoe managed to create a drug that does much more than keep a patient alive, it can bring one back from the dead. Their first successful test was in a pig that they were able to bring back just long enough for it to squeal and scare the crap out of the team. The second test was on a dog, that was brought back to life and began to function as a “normal” dog would.
Just as the team seems to be making real progress and locking down their process, their funding is pulled and they lose all their research. Not satisfied to sit around and let the project fall apart, they decide to do one more full scale test on another dog. In the process of bringing the pet back, Zoe is electrocuted and dies. Frank, not willing to let her go, decides that she will be the new test subject. When the switch is thrown, Zoe is back and seems to be fine. However, just like any good horror movie, things are definitely not what they seem.
The biggest issue I have The Lazarus Effect is that there is no one thing wrong with it. The acting is good enough. Olivia Wilde is beautiful as ever, and scary as shit as the main villain. Donald Glover is great, as are the other actors, really. They writing is okay, but there really isn’t a lot of on screen dialog, now that I think about it. Special effects are mostly practical effects and done well enough. Even the story is just okay. And that is my issue; everything is just “okay”.
The thing about horror movies is that they are mostly made to scare or unsettle the viewer, Lazarus Effect didn’t go far enough in either direction. I’ve said before that I find the vast majority of horror movies, especially ones that set up “jump scares” formulaic, much to their detriment. Maybe that’s my fault, and I shouldn’t blame the movie, but I do. I want a movie that can find a way to make me feel creeped out. Unfortunately this was not the movie to do so.
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