The Lazarus Effect (2015)

The Lazarus Effect: Directed by David Gelb. With Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Sarah Bolger, Evan Peters. A group of medical researchers discover a way to bring dead patients back to life.

“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 u0026quot;scaresu0026quot; but theyu0026#39;re all the cliché flickering lights, someone coming up behind someone elseu0026#39;s back, fake out, cheap ass easy jump scares that weu0026#39;ve seen a million times and you can see them coming from a mile away. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe 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. Itu0026#39;s just like one second Iu0026#39;m like, u0026quot;hm, this could actually go somewhereu0026quot; and then two seconds later a freaky face pops on screen and itu0026#39;s like ugh, why bother.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe 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 isnu0026#39;t given enough to work with. Everything about the movie feels rushed. The characters arenu0026#39;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 u0026quot;Event Horizonu0026quot; in a laboratory with some u0026quot;The Shiningu0026quot; and u0026quot;Lucyu0026quot; sprinkled here and there. Sure there is some creepy imagery but itu0026#39;s stuff weu0026#39;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, itu0026#39;s just like… what a waste.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI canu0026#39;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 isnu0026#39;t terrible – thereu0026#39;s just no reason to see it. Go see u0026quot;Event Horizonu0026quot; or u0026quot;The Shiningu0026quot; if youu0026#39;re in the mood for some real psychological scares.”