![]() This still seems like an improvement over actually being a full time resident in hell, but she decides to take out her anxiety on her friends who brought her back. Part of her is still there, every time she closes her eyes she revisits her most traumatic childhood memory. Unlike the dog, Zoe can articulate her experience, which was a literal hell. Instead of leaving the lab immediately following this rogue experiment, they all hang out and wait for things to g0 from bad to worse. While this is the part that is supposed to deliver the horror movie those lame “BOO”s teased, the last half hour just devolves into utter ridiculousness (the film only runs a merciful 80 minutes). Frank goes against the wishes of the rest of the team and injects the serum into his fianc ée’s lifeless brain, bringing back what at first appears to be a relatively normal Zoe. Of course they eventually have to try the serum on a person, which happens after an accident in the lab electrocutes Zoe. The concept and the build-up are promising, with a mid-paced 45 minute lead-in that is decent except when it occasionally resorts to clich é scare tactics meant to make viewers jump and assure them that things are going to get scary. Director David Gelb, best known for the hit doc Jiro Dreams of Sushi, is another odd choice that could have paid off but doesn’t. ![]() The canine they chose was also probably the best casting choice made as well… the rest of the actors can perform, but they are known mostly for indie dramas and comedy and often have a similar “what am I doing here?” expression, but for different reasons. One of the things that works so well about this part of the story is the animal’s inability to verbally articulate its life after death experience, so the film briefly maintains some mystery and ambiguity. In fact, they could have even made the entire movie about the dog and still avoided Cujo/ Pet Cemetery/ The Thing territory. It’s probably our human projection, but his face seems to express a peculiar “I shouldn’t be here” feeling that is what the whole movie should have explored. They test it on a dog first, and once this dog is brought back, he steals every scene he’s in. Once they crack the code, they realize they overshot their original goal and the serum can actually bring the deceased back to life. The other half of the team is played by Evan Peters ( X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Donald Glover ( Community). Scientists/ lovers Frank (Mark Duplass) and Zoe (Olivia Wilde) lead a team working on a serum that is originally intended to prolong brain functions for that critical period of time when doctors can still save a patient. It feels as though the title designers showed a sample of what they could create, and the producers decided the demo was sufficient. The opening credits are a microcosm of the bigger problems with The Lazarus Effect: you can start with something strong but as soon as you start cutting corners it cheapens everything. Unfortunately they don’t last very long, ending abruptly while the remainder of the credits appear over a typical intro scene of main characters arriving at work. ![]() ![]() The Lazarus Effect kicks off with a super cool, stylized opening credit sequence worthy of those oh-so-popular cable shows.
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