The Lazarus Effect (2015 film)
The Lazarus Effect | |
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Directed by | David Gelb |
Written by | |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Michael Fimognari |
Edited by | Michael N. Knue |
Music by | Sarah Schachner |
Production companies | |
Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 83 minutes[2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.3 million[3][4] |
Box office | $38.4 million[4] |
The Lazarus Effect is a 2015 American science fantasy horror film directed by David Gelb and written by Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater. The film stars Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Donald Glover, Evan Peters, and Sarah Bolger. The film was released on February 27, 2015, by Relativity Media. It received negative reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $38 million worldwide against a budget of $3 million.[4][3]
Plot
At a university, medical researchers Dr. Frank Walton and his fiancée, Dr. Zoe McConnell, developed a serum, code-named "Lazarus". Although intended to assist coma patients, the serum can bring the dead back to life. Videography student Eva documents their project.
Assisted by their colleagues Niko and Clay, they run a successful trial on a recently
The university dean learns of their underground experiments and shuts down their project. In addition, a major
Desperate to prove their ownership of the serum formula, Frank and his team sneak into their lab to replicate the experiment. During their attempt, Zoe is fatally electrocuted. Despite the others' warnings, a distraught Frank uses the serum on her. Initially, the revival is a success, but the team soon realizes that something is wrong with Zoe. She claims that when she died, she went to her version of Hell, which was a nightmare originating from her childhood: during a fire in her apartment building, she witnessed trapped neighbors burning to death. She also demonstrates unusual psychic abilities.
They realize that the serum causes brains to "evolve" rapidly, giving Zoe
Eva, who is still alive and trying to locate Zoe to inject her, is left in the dark. Zoe eventually finds Eva, who is apparently able to escape and inject Zoe with the syringe, but it turns out to be an illusion; Zoe then kills Eva. Zoe then injects Frank with her own serum-saturated blood, successfully bringing him back from the dead.
Cast
- Mark Duplass as Dr. Frank Walton
- Olivia Wilde as Dr. Zoe McConnell
- Sarah Bolger as Eva
- Evan Peters as Clay
- Donald Glover as Niko
- Ray Wise as Mr. Wallace
- Amy Aquino as President Dailey
Release
On December 17, 2013, it was announced that the film (then titled Lazarus) would be released on January 30, 2015, with Lionsgate distributing the film.[5] On November 4, 2014, Relativity Media acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film from Lionsgate, which retained international distribution and sales rights, and set the film's release date for February 20, 2015.[1] In December 2014, it was then announced that the film would be retitled The Lazarus Effect, and be released a week later than previously planned, on February 27, 2015.[6]
Marketing
The first still of the film was released on January 5, 2015, along with the theatrical poster.[7]
Box office
In North America, the film opened to number five in its first weekend, with $10,203,437, behind Focus, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, and Fifty Shades of Grey.[8][9]
Reception
The Lazarus Effect received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 15% of 110 reviews were positive, with an average rating of 4/10. The site's consensus reads "The Lazarus Effect has a talented cast and the glimmer of an interesting idea, but wastes it all on insipid characters and dull, recycled plot points."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale.[12][13][9]
Frank Scheck of
A.A. Dowd of
See also
References
- ^ a b "Blumhouse's 'Lazarus' Gets February Release Date With Relativity Buy - Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ "AMC Theatres: The Lazarus Effect". amctheatres.com. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
- ^ a b Todd Cunningham. "'Lazarus Effect' to Test Jason Blum Effect of Turning Low-Budget Thrillers Into Box-Office Hits". Thewrap.com. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
- ^ a b c "The Lazarus Effect (2015)". Box Office Mojo. February 3, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ^ McNary, Dave (December 18, 2013). "Lionsgate Dates Olivia Wilde's 'Lazarus' for 2015 Super Bowl Weekend". Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ "David Gelb's Lazarus with Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass & Evan Peters Retitled 'The Lazarus Effect', Release Date Pushed to February 27th". Final Reel. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ^ Kenji Lloyd (January 5, 2015). "First Poster & First Look at Olivia Wilde in The Lazarus Effect, Jason Blum Hopeful for a Sequel". finalreel.co.uk. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for February 27-March 1, 2015". Box Office Mojo. March 1, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ a b Ray Subers (March 1, 2015). "Weekend Report: 'Focus' Pulls Off Minor Heist at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo.
They awarded the movie a "C-" CinemaScore, which is pretty standard for this genre.
- ^ "The Lazarus Effect". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 2, 2015). "Will Smith's 'Focus' Lower In Actuals With $18.69M Opening – Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood.
Lazarus Effect got a C- CinemaScore
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (February 27, 2015). "Box Office: Will Smith's 'Focus' Opens to Muted $19.1M But Still No. 1". The Hollywood Reporter.
It received a C- CinemaScore, not unusual for a horror title.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (February 26, 2015). "'The Lazarus Effect': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ James Rocchi (February 25, 2015). "'The Lazarus Effect' Review: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass Learn That Sometimes, Dead is Better". TheWrap. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ Geoff Berkshire (February 26, 2015). "'The Lazarus Effect' Review: It Lives (But Barely)". Variety. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ Mick LaSalle (February 26, 2015). "Review: 'Lazarus Effect' revives dead, but puts audiences out". SFGate. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ "'Lazarus' rises above the horror pack". Usatoday.com. February 27, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ "'Lazarus Effect' cannot be raised from the dead - Movies". The Boston Globe. February 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ A.A. Dowd (February 26, 2015). "Review: You won't need 100 percent of your brain to dismiss The Lazarus Effect". Avclub.com. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ "'The Lazarus Effect" review: Dead on arrival". New York: NY Daily News. February 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (February 26, 2015). "'The Lazarus Effect' fails to reanimate tired monster movie cliches". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ "The Lazarus Effect contains an old plot best left buried: review | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. February 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ James Berardinelli (February 26, 2015). "Lazarus Effect, The | Reelviews Movie Reviews". Reelviews.net. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ "Harmless 'The Lazarus Effect' mostly flatlines : Entertainment". Stltoday.com. February 27, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ Staskiewicz, Keith (February 27, 2015). "'The Lazarus Effect': EW review". EW.com. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
External links
- The Lazarus Effect at IMDb
- The Lazarus Effect at Box Office Mojo