The Lazarus Effect

Acting - 4

Writing - 4

Production - 3

Intent - 4

Story - 3

 

Overall : 3.6/5

The Lazarus Effect, taken from the man which Jesus himself brought back from the dead, Lazarus of Bethany. With a serum reminiscent of the kind from Re-Animator, though with more of a demonic affect as opposed to a zombie one, and a character like that of an evil Lucy (yes, the recent Scarlett Johansson role), this horror movie has familiar horror elements but with different points of view. Using science as a door to supernatural evil is nothing new, but using it to show explanations as to why and how these changes are aloud to take place add an element to make this film unique unto its own.

In this movie we see 5 classic character pillars of horror movies. From Olivia Wilde we have Zoe, the believer. Mark Duplass plays Frank, the non-believer and lead scientist (of course). Evan Peters, from X-Men and American Horror Story, plays Clay who is my favorite element in an American horror movie . . . the comic relief. Sarah Bolger plays Eva, who is the most essential character playing the cute but innocent virgin (though her character being an actual virgin isn't a factor or made certain). And finally we have Donald Glover, no relation to Danny Glover, who plays Niko. Now Niko is, and I say this with a chuckle, the "red shirt" character as I call them. If you know anything about Star Trek then you know what this means! And I laugh because, well . . . what is the biggest cliché when it comes to the first person who dies in a horror movie?
(hint...LL Cool J has been beating the odds his entire career).

Now, when you're suppose to be mad at a character I found that I was so. The same goes for being relieved, sympathetic, scared, or even happy. For this I feel the acting was spot on, at least for the average horror movie that it is. The acting and the writing didn't over play their parts when it came to dramatic moments, otherwise it would've made for cheap performances. Comedy was well written and well delivered, mostly by Clay the comic relief, and even a seasoned horror vet like myself would clinch under the building suspense and inevitable scare at some points during the film. Olivia Wilde was an amazing mistress of evil!

The body count is low and only a few of the deaths were what I would consider, in my own personal movie viewing experience, creative. With that I will add that every death is intense. If you experience this film in a theater then the death sequences in the movie just might be enough to make you shutter.

Finally, the ending . . . NO not my review . . . well, yes my review but I was referring to the ending of the movie. It is the most important part to almost any story, the part which has the last and longest impact on your opinion of the story and what it holds for you. Most of our modern horror movies in main stream entertainment have caught a nasty habit. They normally end in a way not befitting a true horror movie. So many with a resolute ending where everything turns out for the better, horror movies in America seem to have lost their luster and replaced it with hope. But this film, while not the most powerful of it's genre, has the ending of a horror movie the way it is suppose to be seen. Whether or not you like the movie, both parties will be thinking the same thing . . . . "those poor bastards"!