31
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80TheWrapJames RocchiTheWrapJames RocchiThe Lazarus Effect is a smart, unsubtle chiller that should leave even a dedicated horror fan shaken and spooked from its opening scene’s revelations to its final scene’s implications.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThere’s no point in overselling a conventional, rarely surprising horror picture, a picture that manages one good, cheap jolt and a solid hour of dread. But Lazarus reminds us that a genre overwhelmed by junk fare doesn’t need to be that way. It’s not effects, gore or novelty that matter. It’s all in the execution, and electrocution.
- 63USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigWith its homages to "Frankenstein," "The Exorcist" and "The Shining," director David Gelb's The Lazarus Effect is at least smarter and tenser than last year's crop of tame horror films.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierForget the minor, derivative scares in The Lazarus Effect. The real jolt here is seeing a well-known name playing a monstrous evil force.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe 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.
- 30Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAside from the waste of talent, the frustrating thing about The Lazarus Effect is how it cheats. Good horror movies work on internal logic.
- 25Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezDavid 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.
- 25Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanDespite 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.
- 20The GuardianJordan HoffmanThe GuardianJordan HoffmanYou’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.
- 0New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickThere’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.