Early on, the script telegraphs the fact that Frank is a staunch believer in science as a way to explain all of life’s mysteries, while his beloved Zoe is open to the idea that religion could have some answers as well. No doubt the filmmakers would argue that these complaints are merely signs of Frank’s overconfidence in his own intellect. Likewise, the decision the use the serum on Zoe is made rashly, and once she’s alive again there doesn’t seem to be enough concern about what the possible side effects could be. To begin with, despite bringing a dog back to life - an extraordinary achievement - no one in Frank’s team appears appreciably amazed, nor do they seem all that concerned that the pooch starts exhibiting incredibly aggressive behaviour. The film’s real problem, though, is that it repeatedly puts the characters into dangerous situations they should be smart enough to avoid. ( The Lazarus Effect bears a 2013 copyright, so presumably it was dreamed up before Luc Besson’s 2014 feature Lucy, which concerned a young woman who, like Zoe, suddenly has superpowers because of advanced neural activities.) (Presumably, that’s why audience members are buying tickets in the first place.) But Gelb (who previously made the documentary Jiro Dreams Of Sushi) and screenwriters Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater don’t do much to enliven a familiar setup, drawing from Frankenstein, Flatliners and others. No one in the audience will be shocked that the reanimation of Zoe doesn’t go smoothly. Not willing to let her go, Frank decides to use the serum on his fiancée, with disastrous results. Defying their bosses, Frank and Zoe and the rest of their team (Donald Glover, Evan Peters and Sarah Bolger) decide to do one more experiment, which leaves Zoe dead from an accidental electrocution. After having success bringing back to life a dead dog, they discover that the university is shutting down their work - and that a mysterious corporation will be seizing their intellectual property. In The Lazarus Effect, Frank (Duplass) and Zoe (Wilde) are engaged, but their wedding has been delayed by their research into a serum that can reanimate the deceased. Expect reviews to be dismissive and word of mouth to be tepid.
However, since the film is only rated PG-13, it’ll be able to cater to a larger audience than if it had received a restrictive R rating.
#THE LAZARUS EFFECT CAST MOVIE#
Opening in the US on February 27, The Lazarus Effect is the only horror movie in sight, but without a lot of marquee names in the cast, this Relativity release should probably keep commercial expectations in check. Playing the long-frustrated Zoe, who wants to get on with her and Frank’s life together, the actress flashes some demonic glee once her character is reanimated. The most nuanced performance comes from Wilde. Those pluses only increase the frustrations, however: Why play down to the basest tenets of a genre when it’s clear the filmmaking aspires to something smarter? The feature directorial debut of David Gelb is elegantly shot and sports an impressive cast for a horror entry, including Mark Duplass and Olivia Wilde. For a movie populated with brilliant scientists, this cautionary tale about trying to raise the dead is consistently undone by incredibly boneheaded decisions, which conveniently raise the stakes and artificially increase the suspense. But in The Lazarus Effect, arrogance isn’t the problem - it’s simple stupidity. In horror stories, it’s customary for characters who want to play God to be undone by their own arrogance.
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