‘The Lazarus Effect’ Trailer: Olivia Wilde Creates a Monster

You know that annoying movie trope where the story begins with something wild and crazy before flashing back to explain how we got there? The new ‘The Lazarus Effect’ trailer may be the first movie preview actually guilty of utilizing this tired device. Thankfully, the rest of the film actually looks like a pretty solid mash-up of a bunch of various horror concepts that we happen to dig starring a bunch of people we like, so we’re on board.

That bunch of people includes Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass and Donald Glover, which sounds more like the cast of a low-budget, quirky indie comedy than the stars of the next horror movie from the company behind ‘Insidious’ and ‘Paranormal Activity.’ But hey, that’s part of the charm! ‘The Lazarus Effect’ is going to give a bunch of likable, funny actors the chance to scream and die horribly. Watching a demonic Wilde torment Duplass should be worth the price of admission on its own.

The plot itself looks like a clever combination of scientific and supernatural horror, following a team of scientists who discover how to bring the dead back to life ... except that they don’t come back alone. (Spoiler: they come back with demons and stuff.) Lots of running and screaming and modulated voices ensue! Even the worst films from Blumhouse Productions tend to have their fair share of scares, but ‘The Lazarus Effect’ looks like one of their better offerings. More ‘The Purge: Anarchy’ and less ‘The Purge,’ if you will.

‘The Lazarus Effect’ opens on February 27.