Lazarus Effect, The
Entry updated 24 August 2026. Tagged: Film.
US film (2015). Blumhouse Productions. Directed by David Gelb. Written by Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater. Cast includes Sarah Bolger, Mark Duprass, Donald Glover, Evan Peters and Olivia Wilde. 83 minutes. Colour.
Scientists Frank Walton (Duprass) and Zoe McConnell (Wilde) have devised a "Lazarus serum" to resurrect the dead; they test it on a dead Dog, who is successfully revived but exhibits unusual hostile behavior. Despite having their research cancelled by their university's dean, they continue to carry out their work, now assisted by a student named Eva (Bolger) who was filming their activities, and when McConnell dies, Walton employs the serum on her. After she comes back to life, she develops Psi Powers and becomes homicidal; following other incidents, Walton dies but is brought back to life by McConnell, presumably to join her in perpetrating maniacal violence.
This is a film with an interesting premise that devolves into a routine iteration of the Frankenstein story, as an experiment with benign intentions results only in the creation of a sort of Monster. Indeed, Frank Walton's name seems to reference both Frankenstein and the man in Mary Shelley's novel who discovered Frankenstein and his monster in the Arctic, Captain Robert Walton. Still, there are some novelties: the disastrous experiment is not undertaken by a lone scientist, but by a team of scientists working at a university, which is at least a topical update to this tired story; and the scientists' work is being documented in film, so their findings will not be lost when their notes are burned as in past stories. [GW]
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