Parents' Guide to

The Lazarus Effect

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Talent wasted in scary but cliché resurrection tale.

Movie PG-13 2015 83 minutes
The Lazarus Effect Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 17+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Raritysfans
Raritysfans Adult
January 10, 2021
age 18+

Live Forever

No Blockbuster epic like Big Hero 6, but some classic test lab horror made in nearly an hour when Found Footage streaming was the king in mid 2010s. The typical bring back some to life gone wrong movie with clumsy dialogue, and impressive effects. Consumerism includes Video Games and in violence a demon going awry.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
jkauto
jkauto Adult
March 11, 2015
age 15+

No oscar winner but still fun to watch

This is standard horror movie fare- jump scenes, crescendos, possession- the works. A lot of it could be categorized as "formulaic", although it is quite a refresher for hollywood to bring back the sci-fi elements in horror. The content in the film is light- no violence at all. But the terror is intense at moments- especially when the camera girl is searching for Olivia Wilde's possessed character in the dark. The film has the same intensity as a film I saw as a kid by the name of "Darkness Falls" back in '04. If they can handle that- they can handle this.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

While working on a way to extend the window of time between when a person's body dies and when their brain actually dies, med students Frank (Mark Duplass) and Zoe (Olivia Wilde) develop a serum that can actually resurrect the dead. Their first experiment, with a dog, goes fairly well, albeit with some strange side effects. After a loophole in a grant causes their lab to be shut down, they decide to run an undercover experiment at night to re-create their lost data. But during the experiment, Zoe is electrocuted and dies. Frank decides to use their process to bring her back, but what actually returns is something entirely unexpected.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (9):

The movie is a terrible recycling of old ideas, ranging from classics like Frankenstein and The Monkey's Paw to 2014's Lucy, not to mention the routine effects and jump-scares. The filmmakers might have used these things in fresh ways, but they don't bother. Rather, the movie anxiously, recklessly rushes through its plot toward the climax, as if it's afraid of anyone noticing its emptiness. Zoe doesn't even get a chance to adapt to her new condition or to ruminate on what she's been through. She goes from 0 to 60, from sweetheart to an evil monster with total control of her powers. What a waste of talent.

THE LAZARUS EFFECT barely avoids being yet another found-footage horror movie, even though it has a documentary filmmaker character (Sarah Bolger) filming everything, and security cameras are everywhere. That was a wise move, as was casting decent, reliable actors like Bolger, Duplass, Wilde, Donald Glover, and Evan Peters. But the next question becomes: What were they doing here?

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether The Lazarus Effect is scary. What were the scariest parts? Why? What makes something a horror movie rather than a thriller? Which genre would you say this one is?

  • Why does the movie have a documentary filmmaker recording everything? Why do the characters need things recorded?

  • How violent is the movie? How did the violence affect you?

  • The movie touches on some deep themes about life and death and what happens to the human body. What do you believe?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate