Wednesday, October 14, 2015

31 Days of Halloween 2015: The Lazarus Effect

2014, David Gelb (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) -- download

Yes, the director of the acclaimed documentary about a sushi master, has also made a cheesy horror movie. He should stick to documentaries.

More cheats! I left a few horror movies sitting in my list in case I do something in the evening other than watch a movie. This is one.

It doesn't take much to call this a remake of Flatliners, it actually is much worse. At least that movie had the brat pack of that era going for it, but this one has Olivia Wilde and Donald Glover, and that is about it.  Am I supposed to know who Mark Duplass is, because he is not convincing as the tortured scientist working on a drug that will prolong the period from which people can be revived.  You know, revived from death. By combining a milky substance with massive electrical shocks, they figure out how to draw you back from the beyond. But didn't Pet Cemetery teach anybody anything? You always come back wrong.

Olivia Wilde is his partner, his lover and the first human victim of his folly. And of course, she has to have a dark past which will be dragged back with her from over there. But for some reason they decide it will have a side effect that is not much different than "all your brain cells active" scifi, such as that in Lucy, but with the added bonus of black demon eyes. When did they decide that an entirely black eye means demonic?

They could have gone for a more science focused movie but completely, utterly dispensed with that for scares and darkness and crying side kicks. It goes no where, delivers everything else in a lazy fashion and inspires no desire to know how things will end up.

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