Oh, the horror… that this movie is. So bad, in fact, that I resent the time it’s taking me to write this “review” panning it. To be fair, I don’t like horror movies to begin with. So it’s quite possible that horror movie or B-movie fans will find some redeeming value in The Lazarus Effect. I just didn’t get it. At all. And I put too much faith in the casting. I generally like Olivia Wilde, so I held out hope that it would be entertaining on some level – like the apocalyptic zombie movie World War Z – but no, that was not the case. I’m thinking Wilde must be (really good) friends with somebody connected to the script. Here’s the gist:
A group of researchers led by Frank (Mark Duplass) and his fiancé Zoe (Wilde) are conducting a series of secret experiments to try and bring dead animals back to life. The university gets wind of their unsanctioned actions and shuts down the operation. The researchers scramble to salvage their data – and replicate the results – and in the process, Zoe gets electrocuted in a freak mishap. Then she is brought back to life. And she’s evil. And people die. Or do they?
Fortunately, this movie appears to have been DOA at the box office. Let’s hope it stays that way. If you’re still curious, watch the trailer. It’s basically the whole movie in a nut shell.