Name: The Lazarus Effect (2015)
IMDb: link to IMDb
Genres: Horror, Mystery Country of Origin: USA
Cast: Olivia Wilde as Dr Zoe McConnell, Mark Duplass as Frank, Sarah Bolger as Eva, Evan Peters as Clay, Donald Glover as Niko.
Directed by: David Gelb. Written by: Luke Dawson, Jeremy Slater.
The Three Acts:
The initial tableau: Engaged couple Frank and Zoe get a grant to do a study. They hire Clay and Niko to help with computers and recording telemetry. Together they develop a method for preserving recently dead tissue so that it can be revivified without loss of memory, or damage to motor or sensory nerve responses. This would allow surgeons and specialists to bring back patients once whatever needed fixing on the patient was complete. They hire Eva to document the project on film. During the three years spent on the project so far, Frank and Zoe have put off their wedding plans and worked hard to justify the grant.
Delineation of conflicts: The team records their work on university computers. Unbeknownst to them, the content gets reviewed regularly by the company that underwrote Frank's grant contract. When the team successfully reanimates a dog put down for having cataracts, Frank finds that his contract is nullified, and everything is seized by the relevant pharmaceutical company. The team sees an opportunity: get whatever they can from backups, and piece together their research so that they can continue in another lab before their chance of getting credit is lost.
Resolution: What could possibly go wrong? There's jail, perhaps. Plus, the dog they reanimated was not quite normal. What would happen if they tried to reanimate a human?
One line summary: Another weak entry in the 'not safe to play God' sub-genre.
Statistics:
a. Cinematography: 6/10 This is definitely a mixed bag. Regular shooting is fine. Results shot through the documents camera is less good. There is a third mode having to do with filming experiments on the fly; this is even poorer in quality.
b. Sound: 8/10 Good but not great. The number of jump scares was thankfully small.
c. Acting: 5/10 I liked Mark Duplass, Ray Wise (small role), Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger, and Donald Glover. Olivia Wilde, however, was just terrible.
d. Screenplay: 4/10 Before the funding break, the story was going well. After the question of religion came up, and all the mistakes began, the flaws and cliches were many and clear.
Final rating: five of ten
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