The Lazarus Effect | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I saw this on Netflix recently and, knowing nothing about it, decided to take a chance on it and see what it was like.

A group of researchers think that they've found a way to revive the dead. But when Zoe (Olivia Wilde) is killed in one of their experiments, her fiance Frank (Mark Duplass) uses their method to bring her back to life - with terrifying consequences.

Even though the plot sounds exactly like the film 'Flatliners' (or at a stretch 'Pet Sematary'), the cast (which includes Donald Glover, Evan Peters and Sarah Bolger) is so good that it makes the film really promising before you even start it.

In terms of believability, other than the main plot point of 'bringing the dead back to life', nothing about this film seems particularly far-fetched - and that includes the relationship between the cast, who all have really great chemistry and look like they've known each other for as long as the characters have.

The film gets the mix of sci-fi and horror right in the sense that there's not too much of one or the other. It fits really comfortably into both genres. It's not terrifying or anything, but the concept in itself is scary enough to keep the audience entertained.

Of all the amazing actors in the movie, Sarah Bolger's performance definitely stands out, which is ironic because she's the only one of the main actors who's not immediately recognisable from a big movie (though she was so good in the horror film 'Emelie').

One of the things that I find weird about writing movie reviews is that, having less negatives than positives should equal a really high rating. But the thing is, even though I liked the movie and didn't have any strong negatives, that doesn't necessarily mean that this is a film that deserves a 9/10, but rather that it was average without being bad.

Overall, if you're into horror or sci-fi, I would definitely recommend this film.

6/10

Lou