Blumhouse Productions is responsible for some of the most iconic horror films in recent memory, including Paranormal Activity, Insidious and The Purge. The next effort from Jason Blum’s hugely profitable little company is The Lazarus Effect, which follows a group of med students (including Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde and Donald Glover) that discover they can bring people back from the dead – albeit with pretty severe consequences.
Check out the first Lazarus Effect trailer below, thanks to Relativity Media.
If you’re wondering about the eclectic cast that Blum has assembled for this film, apparently there’s a reason behind that. Here’s what he told EW in a recent interview:
“The most important thing to make a movie scary is that the you forget you’re watching actors, and you think you’re watching real people. So I think if the audience sees someone they don’t necessarily associate with that genre, it make it feel more real. The reason I love to do low-budget movies is you can try different things… have creative freedom and experiment, like our characters.”
Makes sense, I suppose. Duplass and Glover are probably most recognizable for their roles in The League and Community, respectively, although Duplass also has plenty of indie film cred, as well. The horror genre is a new venture for them and Wilde, whose also got her break in television with House M.D. Whether or not Blum’s idea for creating a more immersive film or not remains to be seen.
As for The Lazarus Effect, the plot is already treading some familiar territory, and Blum acknowledges the similarities to 1990’s Flatliners. “All of us really liked that movie,” he says. “I feel like we’re tipping our hat to Flatliners, for sure, in this movie.” But he also promises that director David Gelb has “a really unique take” on the material, so hopefully there are a few surprises that aren’t given away in the trailer.
The Lazarus Effect will hit theaters on February 27.
donald glover evan peters mark duplass olivia wilde the lazarus effect