Spoilers!
If you go into an action movie, you know the hero is going to live. If you watch a romance, you know the guy and girl will get together. So why, when people watch horror movies, are they surprised and annoyed by any type of cliché? No one ever goes into a movie expecting a genre- changing experience. Give The Lazarus Effect a chance and don't expect that from it.
First off, the cast is pretty damn good. Olivia Wilde does an excellent job—she is creepy once she returns from the dead, even when she is just sitting there. Evan Peters isn't given a large role, but he does well with what he has. Peters is a stereotypical college-ish guy. He smokes, he plays WoW, he is immature. Donald Glover does amazing, in my opinion (I'm a huge fan of him so I might be slightly biased regarding his performance). He has excellent control over the subtle nuances that occur when two people interact. You can quickly tell his character likes Wilde's character, which isn't much of an aspect to the movie, but does add that much more. The other two actors do fairly well, but that felt more forced and not as natural; whether or not that was the actor's fault, I'm not sure.
David Gelb does a good job with the directing. Yes, there are jump-scares. Yes, there are ominous camera pans. Yes, there are many clichés, but what do you expect from a cliché- drenched genre? The clichés aren't the focus of the movie, for the most part. They're little additions. Yes, the plot is also a little cliché, but I'd like to see you think of something entirely original. It takes science from Frankenstein and combines it with the anger-filled reanimation of Pet Cemetery—but not in a bad way. It's not mindless mayhem, there is science behind (probably pseudo-science, so don't expect actual theories). None of the plot seems rushed, no deus ex machinas, nothing unreasonable. This was one of the few horror movies that didn't make me laugh because of some random act of God, or the power of love, or whatever saved them or catalyzed the plot. It's not the best, but it's good.
Finally, I'd like to address mostly the first comment posted on here. It's not anti-Christian, or pro-Christian. It's more than that. If anything, it makes you consider what you think happens after death. Two characters have a brief discussion over life after death: science and religion. Despite this, no side is given the advantage. The movies clearly states that Zoey is changing to some monster, but it never indicates whether it's because she was in hell or if it's the serum used to reanimate. Also, and this is simplying regarding the first review, just because "Lazarus" is in the title, does NOT mean it's going to be about Jesus and God and Lazarus. Nowadays, it's very common for Lazarus to simply mean a return from the dead in some way. Oh wait, it's "The Lazarus Effect". Oh wait, the effect Lazarus had was returning from the dead. Suddenly, referencing the Bible makes perfect sense, especially since the main character is a Christian.
