The Lazarus Effect (2015)
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Writers: Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater
Mark Duplass (Frank), Olivia Wilde (Zoe), Sarah Bolger (Eva), Evan Peters (Clay), Donald Glover (Niko), and Ray Wise as Mr. Wallace.
Happy Halloween everyone! by the time this post is done and published, it will be Halloween. Remember to watch were you go, stay together as a group, and especially do not talk to strangers. Always keep in mind there are folks out there that do not have the same intentions that you do. Halloween is all about fun, so keep it safe, and have a wonderful time.
The main characters in the film are as follows, Zoe McConnell (Olivia Wilde), Frank Walton (Mark Duplass), Clay (Evan Peters), Niko (Donald Glover). The team's main objective is to bring back a coma patient, so that they will be given a second chance. Sounds like a whole lot of fun. The film tackles after death experience, or when death is near, where do you go? hence the name "Lazarus," which if you remember, Lazarus was raised from the dead. The story is not original, it's been done before, with that being said the film has it's own unique scare moments. Believe it or not it's done well, horror movies have those unusual scenes; which some are done with taste and others are cheesy. Lazarus Effect is pure and simple, the story is straight forward, the problems come at a quick pace, the film doesn't drag. An example of this is the introduction, all characters interact with each other, the way everyone is established was done to perfection. The camera moved from one character to another, the audience knows their problems from the start, your never confused about the plot.
One of my favorite scenes is the sequence with Zoe pulling the lever to the electricity, the current is powerful and it jolts the patient, with the serum simultaneously spewing into the veins of the patient. in the case of this particular scene, a pig was used. The jolt was enough to hit Zoe, she fell, it was enough to kill her. The scene was memorable for a horror film; all the characters even though were running out of time, stopped to help her, the revival process, meaning CPR didn't work, so Zoe died that night. The team was desperate, or at least Frank Walton (Mark Duplass) was, he loved her so much that he would try the serum on a human. An argument erupted, but without hesitation the Doctor continued, so that his wife to be could get the serum in her system. Remember the team had all their things pertaining to the serum confiscated from the company that funded the scientist, and their project. The team went inside the lab, and continued the work with a new video, but it was to late, the company spying technique was good enough to uncover what they had done, maybe the company wanted their finds, or hated the fact that playing God was wrong. When everything is done you think that the serum had not worked, but that was not the case, in fact a bit later she rises from the cold steel table. The body lying still, and seconds later rises up with a sheet over her head was kinda cool. Zoe although did not know what happened, her confusion and the look she had given Frank was amazing.
The scare moments are pretty good as well, what about the scene where Frank and Eva were hiding behind a counter, not only was the scene intense it was almost chilling, because Frank and Eva were hiding from the person they care about the most. Just before Zoe attacked them, her eyes turned black, everything in that scene was done well, her strength and conviction was dead on, no holds bared, Zoe almost had an agenda, a well placed plan. She moved to them with all her might, it was awesome to see that on film. The way she moved especially the story that changed to Eva, the student filming the documentary, she was the hero now, or was she? the team still continued their filming even with the problems they had were around the corner, the security guard was on his way to check out the lab. Technically the way the scene went from the cold table to fighting inside the lab, was a pretty cool concept. The special effects were good enough to establish horror in those scenes. Zoe flipping the furniture inside the lab established that she is the one in power,she was the one in control, the consequences of playing God, the outcome in the story wasn't good. Frank yes had lost his love in a accident, but all things came to a close with the team. The team didn't have to die, what if? Frank did not revive Zoe. Everything would've changed, the moral values went down the tubes, desperate situations that ended badly.
Horror films in some ways have the same formula, the beginning sets up the story and the characters, but the main protagonist or in the case of Lazarus Effect had problems from the start, the dream sequence, nightmares Zoe had of when she was child, a great sequence, fast and to the point. Horror films have each their own opening, but not all of them are good enough to establish what this movie did, and in the speed that it was done in. Some films don't even come close to the well acted, played out story that this film had accomplished, a very difficult feat indeed. Because horror films can be a bit cheesy, there are many, and i mean many films that are cheesy but deliver the story to perfection. Yes Lazarus Effect has been done, but what i liked about it was the superb cast, and the pacing of the film was done to perfection. Evan Peters, Olivia Wilde, Sarah Bolger, and Donald Glover, the cast was picked well by the production team. The story with the actors in this film was smooth sailing, not all horror movies could achieve the things i mentioned. So why did i not review the Conjuring? because i wanted to review a movie that was done in 2015. My opinion of the Conjuring is high, i wanted to do something different, and sometimes going down that path is far greater than doing the same thing; and this year i wanted to be different. Every film has there own scary moments, jump points in the film, it is what horror is about. Films have a tendency of being predictable, in fact those are the elements that audiences sway from, the predictable aspects are what changes a good horror film. The Lazarus Effect is a good little film that should be watched, the strongest element is the scare moments mixed in with the pacing. Good films have smooth pacing, and if you want a good horror movie this Halloween, check out this one.
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