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 Lazarus Effect was released on February 27, 2015, by Relativity Media. It received generally negative reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $38.4 million worldwide against a budget of $3 million.
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 euthanized dog, Rocky. However, the revived Rocky displays several unusual psychological and physical phenomena: cataracts formerly present in his eyes abruptly dissolve, he loses his appetite, and he displays increased aggression. Tests reveal that the serum, instead of dissipating, is concentrated within Rocky's brain and causes new synapses to be constructed. The university dean learns of their underground experiments and shuts down their project. In addition, a major pharmaceutical company has bought out the company that funded their research and confiscated everything associated with the project. Desperate to prove their ownership of the serum formula, Frank and his team sneak into their lab to replicate the experiment using a bag of the serum they kept. During their attempt, however, Zoe is fatally electrocuted. Despite the others' warnings, 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. The audience realize that the serum causes brains to "evolve" rapidly, giving Zoe superhuman abilities such as telekinesis and telepathy. It also causes increased aggression and insanity. Zoe eventually finds Eva and shows her the nightmarish Hell she experienced. It is revealed that Zoe was the one causing the fire in the building, and she went to Hell when she died. Zoe kills Rocky and then attempts to seduce Niko. When he refuses, she telekinetically throws him into a locker and crushes it, killing him. Zoe cuts the power to the entire lab. When Clay demands to know where Niko is, she kills him by lodging an e-cigarette into his throat. Later, Zoe kills Frank after he attempts to inject her with poison. Zoe then injects herself with the rest of the bag of the serum, strengthening her abilities. Eva, who is still alive and trying to locate Zoe to inject her, is left alone 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
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. 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. 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.
Marketing The first still of the film was released on January 5, 2015, along with the theatrical poster.
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.
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