2/10

The line between life and death is blurred dramatically, in this newest psychological horror thriller from Director, David Geib (Reawakening). Frank (Mark Duplass) and Zoe (Olivia Wilde) are college scientists who have achieved the unthinkable: bringing the dead back to life. After a successful, yet unsanctioned trial on a newly deceased animal, the team is ready to unveil their breakthrough to the world. When the dean of their university learns of their underground experiments, their  project is unexpectedly shut down and their materials confiscated. During a late night break in, Zoe is killed in a freak accident, and brought back to life using the team’s dangerous serum. The results prove that once a person is gone, they can never be the same. Blumhouse Productions are known for their mind numbing efforts when it comes to B-Grade horror films, but “The Lazarus Effect” takes the spoiled cake. It’s an absolute mess of a film that is rushed on run time (78 Minutes), and lacking on definition for creative kills (PG-13 rating). The movie takes a pretty decent cast with supporting turns by Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger, and mainstream rapper Donald Glover (Better known as Childish Gambino), and wastes their talents with very little about their backstories. The film puts us in a position where we are supposed to care for four scientists who are trying to play God by forcing life upon helpless animals (one of which shows dangerous side effect when being brought back), and feel for them when they are to stupid to throw in the towel. The movie’s sloppy production comes full circle with two scenes i counted that were repeated for other scenes. One in particular displays a wide shot of the college campus with two extras having the most awkward silenced background conversation i have ever seen. Because these extras made me laugh upon the first time i saw them, it wasn’t hard to recognize them wearing the same clothing, and making the exact same hand gestures that they did in a different scene only five minutes prior. Did they really think nobody would notice this? There is a guard on the floor who occasionally checks in on the team, but he disappears during the second half of the film when all of these overwhelmingly audible events should make him curious. Nope, he’s gone forever once the team outsmart him by hiding. The film does supply some creepy imagery, but nothing ever sticks out from a limited rating that always pulls the camera away when someone is about to bite the dust. I wasn’t expecting to go into this movie yearning for a descriptive explanation on how everything works, but the film takes pages from 2014’s “Lucy” when it explains that Zoe can now use 100% of her brain as a result of this serum. The explanation is presented with scientific gibberish that the directors hope the audience is too stupid to understand. Nothing needs explained when it comes to the dead tissue that a brain suffers when life has been taken. I guess the serum just fixes these dead cells, but you would never know it because the movie doesn’t care to explain it. Everything is rushed along so much so that the film gets down to it’s final twenty five minutes, and we realize no one has been killed. What follows are jump scare deaths that never quite earn the jump. For those of you who know me, you know i hate jump scares in horror movie. Not because they scare me, but because they are the cheapest method of terror psychology. A true director will create an eerie setting and rely more on the performances of it’s actors to translate the terror to the audience. 2014’s “The Babadook” is a great example of such methods. The ending of “The Lazarus Effect” did nothing to lift a fast dropping rating. The movie just ends without that last scream, or shock that makes us feel like we spent our money wisely. What is it with horror movies in the 21st century where 90% of them don’t know how to end their films? Instead of the idea first, think about an ending that gives the crowd something they have to see, then build it going backwards. It sounds weird, but you have to know where you’re going before you know how to get there. Overall, avoid this one like the plague. I suppose the film hits it’s target because it couldn’t possibly aim any lower. It’s redemption is in it’s short run time, but this film (Like the corpse) are dead from the opening bell.