'The Lazarus Effect' Movie Review: Reanimation Theme Not Impressing

'The Lazarus Effect' is the latest movie to delve into reanimation of the dead. While it toys around with the folly of "playing God," the critics said the movie is only mildly interesting and fails to utilize its good cast.

Centered around a team of neuroscientists who practice reanimation on animals before they try it on one of their own, Zoe (Olivia Wilde), the movie is predictable and devolves into a full-blown killing spree by the time it ends, the critics said.

With other "resurrection" themed movies having been attempted in the past, Variety drew comparisons with them, noting that "The Lazarus Effect" is quite similar to them and does not fully utilize it "wildly overqualified cast."

Despite the film's limitations, Variety said it still expects the film to see a "modest opening weekend" and be able to make a profit before the bad press and word of mouth it has received will sink it for good.

The Chicago Tribune, in its review, said the film has "hip, smart actors," giving credit to its "sharply drawn characters and spare dialogue."

The movie starts with a partially plausible premise as the team of neuroscientists aim to give doctors more time to save patients suffering from severe trauma so that they can be revived with minimal brain damage. However, when they try it on Zoe and "resurrect" her, she comes back with psychic powers that allow her to kill people using just her mind and even send them to hell. At this point, according to the Chicago Tribute, the film becomes a "conventional, rarely surprising horror picture that manages one good, cheap jolt and a solid hour of dread."

The predictable and boring aspects of the movie were also pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter. The film "becomes progressively less interesting as the body count rises and Zoe's eyes turn hellishly black," its online review said. The entertainment website said that whatever potential the film displayed in the first portion is squandered in the end. Actors Mark Duplass, who plays Frank, and Olivia Wilde deserved to be part of a better film, the review added.