'The Lazarus Effect' Stars Olivia Wilde as a Resurrected Dead Releasing Feb 2015
Relativity Media's The Lazarus Effect is scheduled for release to cinemas beginning February 27. Directed by David Gelb from a script written by Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater, this upcoming sci-fi horror-thriller follows the story of a group of medical students who discover a way to bring dead patients back to life, an apparent remake of the 1990 film Flatliners.
The Lazarus Effect cast is headed by Olivia Wilde as the medical researcher Zoe who dies as a result of an accident at the lab facility and who was made to rise from the dead. With her are Mark Duplas, Evan Peters, Donald Glover, and Sarah Bolger. In supporting roles are Bruno Gunn, Jennifer Floyd, Ator Tamlas, Scott Sheldon, Scott Treger, and Emily Kelavos in the role of young Zoe.
According to studio synopsis, Zoe and her team of medical professionals have found a way to bring dead patients back to life using a serum they codenamed 'Lazarus.' After several successful tests are done on dogs and other lab animals, Zoe unfortunately dies in a lab accident following an experiment. Desperate, her team uses 'Lazarus' to bring her back to life. They succeed. But as she begins to display unusual abilities, the team begins to realize that in their attempt to resurrect the dead, they may have opened the door to something evil and supernatural. All these are also shown on the movie's official trailer which has been on the web since the early part of January. The biblical passage from John 11 where Jesus brings the dead Lazarus back to life flashes at the end of the trailer.
The Lazarus Effect is the latest relatively low-budget project from Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions, the company also is responsible for the similarly low-cost Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Insidious, Sinister, and their sequels, which eventually prove to be money-making franchise magnets. The film was originally titled 'Reawakening' then 'Lazarus' until it was finally changed to The Lazarus Effect following Relativity Media's acquisition of distribution rights from Lionsgate.