Imagine splicing together the filmic DNA of Pet Sematary with Flatliners and it seems like you would be in the right ballpark for monster mash-up from director David Gelb (who inexplicably gave us the richly satisfying foodie documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi prior to this outing). The Lazarus Effect centers on the work of a group of medical students (including Olivia Wilde, Donald Glover and Mark Duplass) testing an experimental treatment purported to be able to bring dead patients back to life (… back to reality — sorry, I couldn’t help myself). The trailers show the totally unscientific jump from an animal trial to a human subject (Wilde’s character after she is accidentally electrocuted), with all manner of hair-raising evil to follow, not the least of which is the inevitable death of the movie’s black character. The real question here is whether or not Wilde and Duplass have enough indie cred to forestall the flatlining of the current horror trend. (Opens wide Friday) (PG-13) Not screened in time for review
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2015.
