The Lazarus Effect 2015

We begin with unsettling video footage of a deceased pig on an operating table as a group of medical researchers attempts to resurrect it. They inject the creature with a potent serum and activate their machine, yet nothing occurs initially. A researcher light-heartedly suggests eating the pig when, to everyone’s surprise, it emits a brief squeal before falling silent again.

The story unfolds at a university in Berkeley, California, where Zoe McConnell (Olivia Wilde), one of the leading scientists, introduces a student, Eva (Sarah Bolger), to their lab for documenting the experiments. She presents Eva to her colleagues: Niko (Donald Glover), Clay (Evan Peters), and her fiancé Frank Walton (Mark Duplass), the head of the project. While Clay is openly intrigued by Eva, it’s evident Niko harbors deeper feelings for Zoe. Frank details their serum, dubbed “Lazarus,” revealing its origins in sustaining neural function in coma patients before pivoting to the controversial act of reviving the deceased. Their initial test involves a blind, dead dog named Rocky. Although it seems unsuccessful, Rocky later barks and moves just before the team celebrates their apparent breakthrough with champagne.

Following their success, Frank and Zoe bring Rocky home. They soon realize that the serum’s effects linger, causing changes in the dog’s behavior and health that are both intriguing and alarming. Zoe experiences a distressing nightmare about being trapped in a burning building, awakening to Frank’s comforting presence.

Subsequently, Clay finds himself alone in the lab with Rocky, who suddenly exhibits aggressive behavior after rattling from his cage. When Clay mentions his unsettling experience to the group, they do not believe him. Tensions rise when the university dean reprimands Frank for conducting unauthorized experiments, having received incriminating footage from an unknown source. After the dean’s intervention, shareholders confiscate the lab’s materials after learning that a corporate entity has acquired the funding company.

Amid growing distrust towards Eva, the team decides to sneak into the lab once more using a security pass she retained. Niko manages to bypass the security systems, allowing them to prepare for another test. Unfortunately, Zoe suffers a fatal accident during the experiment where a rogue electric shock severely injures her. Frank desperately attempts to resuscitate her, but tragedy strikes—Zoe is gone. Yet Frank, unwilling to accept her death, injects her with the serum in a risky gamble against morality, a decision their lab partners vehemently contest. To everyone’s astonishment, Zoe miraculously awakens, though her return is far from normal.

Now alive, Zoe begins displaying signs of an unknown essence within her. She confides in Frank about feeling different and haunted by visions of the burning building—a pivotal moment from her traumatic childhood. As the days pass, strange occurrences escalate: Zoe manipulates objects with her mind, and Eva becomes increasingly worried about her friend’s stability. When Eva directly witnesses Zoe’s torment over her childhood, she suggests that Zoe’s soul may be trapped and in turmoil.

Tensions escalate dramatically when Zoe discovers that she can overpower Niko, leading to a tragic series of events that dispose of her colleagues one by one. Desperation sets in as Frank and Eva attempt to subdue the increasingly dangerous Zoe. In a haunting twist, Zoe, now fully aware of her capabilities, inflicts chaos upon her friends, revealing the dark secrets of her past and the extent of her powers.

In a climactic confrontation, Eva tries to save everyone, plunging a syringe into Zoe, which takes effect just as a rescue team arrives at the scene. In a shocking revelation, Zoe’s essence somehow persists, leading to a horrifying conclusion that intertwines life, death, and the consequences of their hubris. The film ends with an eerie twist—Zoe resurrects Frank with the serum from her own body, leaving viewers to ponder the depths of mortality, ethics, and the surge of dark scientific ambition.