The Lazarus Effect
Relativity Media | Release Date: February 27, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
31
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
9
Negative:
15
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerFeb 26, 2015
While the monster Wilde is scary enough, the directing and writing is lazy, relying on “boo!” tactics and insinuating a religious subtext by cutting to close-ups of crucifix jewellery. The ending is slapdash. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMar 2, 2015
Sort of a Flatliners for the sensitive indie-actor set, The Lazarus Effect is a grimy, dopey, confused thriller that wastes a very likable cast. Read full review
30
VarietyGeoff BerkshireFeb 26, 2015
“Lazarus” shamelessly steals from superior genre efforts and lacks any distinguishing traits beyond a wildly overqualified cast. Read full review
30
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergFeb 26, 2015
Despite eclectic casting and occasional experiments with objective camera, the director, David Gelb (“Jiro Dreams of Sushi”), can’t breathe similar life into this risible mix of pseudoscientific hokum and supernatural freakouts. Read full review
30
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 26, 2015
Aside from the waste of talent, the frustrating thing about The Lazarus Effect is how it cheats. Good horror movies work on internal logic. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckFeb 26, 2015
The screenplay by Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater begins promisingly enough with its slow-burn examination of the various moral issues involved. But once Zoe is resuscitated the proceedings descend into familiar horror film film tropes. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 1, 2015
The Lazarus Effect is nothing but a cheap horror film cloaked in scientific mumbo-jumbo. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiFeb 27, 2015
This isn't a real horror movie — this is the kind of horror movie that the characters in a real horror movie watch in order to comment on the lameness of the genre before their authentic terrors begin. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFeb 26, 2015
The Lazarus Effect is not the usual mindless thriller, but it’s as flat as an open soda from last week, with dull characters and virtually every scene taking place in a single location. It looks as if it cost about 12 bucks to make — and somebody got robbed. Read full review
25
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanFeb 26, 2015
Despite classy lead performances by Mark Duplass and Olivia Wilde, the movie, from horror factory Blumhouse (known for cranking out sequels in the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, among others), relies too heavily on reanimated monster movie cliches and scientific gibberish to keep it alive. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezFeb 25, 2015
David Gelb doesn't evince so much as a single compositional sleight of hand, merely delighting in turning lights on and off and watching Zoe appear in random places. Read full review
20
Village VoiceSimon AbramsMar 3, 2015
Death may not be the end in The Lazarus Effect, but it should be. Read full review
20
The GuardianJordan HoffmanFeb 26, 2015
You’ve seen this movie before with peppier actors, and not tethered to a visually uninteresting set that looks like a remainder from a 10-year-old episode of CSI. Read full review
16
The PlaylistDrew TaylorFeb 26, 2015
Bringing someone back from the dead is one of the horror genre's oldest and most effective tropes, but with The Lazarus Effect, it just seems tired. Read full review
0
New York PostLou LumenickFeb 26, 2015
There’s no doubt at all that the schlocky The Lazarus Effect should have been euthanized and shipped directly to video rather than haunting movie theaters, however briefly. Read full review
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