#The lazarus effect cast trial

The potential to do and say more on the subject - you know, the possibility of creating a decently intelligent thriller - is quickly set aside, discarded, dropped, forgotten - take your pick of any number of predicates - with a cut to the aforementioned dog being brought back from the dead. His fiancée and research partner Zoe (Olivia Wilde), on other hand, counters with a spiritual, cosmic account that ultimately ends with 'We just don't know' while twirling a crucifix. Frank is quick to answer with a scientific explanation for the common vision of a bright light at the end of a tunnel as a chemical reaction involving the pituitary gland capable of inducing hallucinations. The moral dilemma behind the power to prevent death is brought up by the team's newest recruit, camera operator Eva (Sarah Bolger), a dead ringer for the 'Final Girl' trope although she's never fully fleshed out to be allowed that prestigious title. This unintended consequence, which will become predictably useful when one of their own finds themselves unexpectedly traveling to the other side, is justified by head scientist Frank (Mark Duplass) as providing surgeons with a few, much needed minutes to save lives during those dangerously tricky medical procedures. This is especially true, if also most apparent, of the two main medical researchers leading a small graduate group experimenting with a serum intended to assist coma patients but discovered to resuscitate the dead. Screenwriters Luke Dawson (' Shutter') and Jeremy Slater ('Fantastic Four (2015)') haphazardly chuck hackneyed opinions hoping some will resonate with viewers and not alienate others. Or at least, that's the theme believed the filmmakers are toying with, touching on a few ideas surrounding death and the afterlife with perfunctory, superficial comments that are just as quickly forgotten as they are mentioned. But in spite of that, the modestly budgeted sci-fi horror flick fails to make a genuinely frightening experience on the apprehension of human interference upon nature - the sort where unchecked science tampers with the metaphysically unknown and plays out its God complex fantasies with grave results.

Most impressive and effective is director David Gelb's (best known for the excellent documentary ' Jiro Dreams of Sushi') camerawork when a recently reanimated dog stealthily sneaks into the bedroom of its new owner and hovers above her while she sleeps, intensifying the icky creep factor. Visually stylish and polished, 'The Lazarus Effect' provides just enough scares and a sense of impending dread to keep audiences watching until the end. They are no longer faced with the question of whether they can bring someone back to life- but rather, the wrath of her return. As her strange new persona reveals itself, the team quickly becomes stuck in a gruesome reality.

Initially, the procedure appears a success, but the team soon realizes something is wrong with Zoe. Fueled by terror and grief, Frank pushes them to do the unthinkable: attempt to resurrect their first human test subject. Frank, Zoe and their team (Donald Glover, Sarah Bolger and Evan Peters) take matters into their own hands, launching a rogue attempt to recreate their experiment, during which things go terribly wrong and one of their own, Zoe, is horrifically killed. When the dean of their university learns of their underground experiments, their project is unexpectedly shut down and their materials confiscated.

#The lazarus effect cast trial

After a successful, yet unsanctioned, trial on a newly deceased animal, the team is ready to unveil their breakthrough to the world. From masters of horror Blumhouse Productions - producer of THE PURGE, INSIDIOUS and SINISTER franchises - THE LAZARUS EFFECT follows a group of researchers led by Frank (Mark Duplass) and his fiancée Zoe (Olivia Wilde,) who've achieved the unimaginable- bringing the dead back to life.