Review: The Lazarus Effect

Any actor playing a scientist has to wonder if people are going to buy them in that role. This thought ran through my head constantly throughout The Lazarus Effect, a corny new sci-fi thriller about how playing God is wrong, mmkay. Mark Duplass and Olivia Wilde are fine actors but neither are convincing as brainy, driven scientists.

The plot involves the reckless and obviously doomed experiments of a couple of scientists, Frank (Duplass) and Zoe (Wilde), their assistants (Donald Glover and Evan Peters), and a camerawoman (Sarah Bolger) on hand to document their work. She also serves the role of the audience so things get explained to her/us a lot here.  Frank and Zoe have developed something they call “the Lazarus serum.” They claim it’s designed to “prolong that period when you can safely bring someone back from the dead.” The movie opens with them already testing the serum on a bling dead dog. It works but the dog is rather odd.

From here, the whole discovery is threatened by some big wigs. That whole plot line only serves to push the story forward as Zoe dies in an accident and Frank decides to bring her back to life. Of course she isn't normal either and the rest of the film is us the audience waiting for everyone else to figure out that something isn't right. 

I will give the film credit for trying to largely stay in one location. For the most part, the film never feels too stifled by the single set. The real issues come in the scares. The film is paint by numbers in terms of jump scares. You can anticipate every single shot and attempt here and as a result, the film is never thrilling. 

The Lararus Effect has a game cast and a few cool ideas but nothing comes together thanks to the uneven direction and routine horror fodder. Films about playing God can be fascinating and the plot has plenty of interesting ideas. Sadly, the film is absent of any new ideas and thus is ultimately boring and forgettable. 

2/5