The Lazarus Project

After facing lethal injection for a multiple murder that he happened to be the only survivor of, our hero awakens to find that he is the grounds keeper at a mental hospital for priests deep in the forests of Oregon. He faces the normal confusion that would be expected by such a turn of events but actually starts to get used to this second chance at life even though he has been told by a visionary figure that he can not ever return to his old life with his wife and child. Things really start getting weird after that.

While the film is sharply derivative of many other better films ranging from "The Shining" to "Jacob's Ladder" it gets by and remains entertaining because it is the type of film that hits it's modest targets squarely on. The pacing is not exactly brisk so if you require your movies to keep you awake and alert then this might not be the DVD rental for you but this psychological drama is definitely worth a rental especially if you like this type of stuff

I didn't think too much of this movie after reading the plot, but fortunately there are these pleasant surprises. Although the story is very thin, I think the acting is great. Paul Walker, whom I did not know before, is very convincing and so are the other characters. The movie is a bit dark, gloomy and sometimes you will feel lost, just like the main character. Bob Gunton is great as a priest, you will love him as you love your granddad. Don't be surprised that you will hardly find a reference from the title to the actual story. I will have to see the movie again to find out if there is one. But one thing is very clear, this is a must see if you prefer acting above action.

The Lazarus Project is directed by John Patrick Glen, who also co-writes the screenplay with Evan Astrowsky. It stars Paul Walker, Linda Cardellini, Piper Perabo, Bob Gunton, Malcolm Goodwin and Tony Curran. Music is by Brian Tyler and cinematography by Jerzy Zielinski.

A reformed criminal out on parole is beset by bad luck and finds himself sentenced to die by lethal injection. Strange then that once the lethal dose is administered, he wakes up working as a grounds-keeper at a psychiatric hospital…

John Glen's first directing assignment is very much a mixed bag, but if landing in the DVD/Blu-ray players of the right audience it could well gain some momentum in the wake of Walker's untimely death.

It's one of those films that operates at a funereal pace and thrives on other worldly atmosphere. After the introductions to the main character and his psychological make-up is out the way, pic shifts into a realm where we, as well as Walker's character, are never sure what is real or what is going on. Is he in some afterlife place? Is it all in his head? A dream? Drug induced? And etc. One of the smart things about the movie is that it binds the audience to the mystery by asking us to fill in the gaps with our own logic. While crucially the reveal comes at the right time so as to give us viewers the opportunity to re-evaluate the various quandaries that the piece has thrown up.

For those who like films like Jacob's Ladder, Shutter Island, The Jacket et al, then this has to be at the very least of interest, to warrant the chance to sell itself to those particular sub-genre fans, besides which, it also shows a string to Walker's acting bow that was rarely tapped into by other directors. And it's beautifully shot by Zielinski too. Contemplative, intriguing and even chilling as regards the various themes it deals with, this Lazarus deserves its own second coming. 7/10

The base story was interesting: a criminal given a second chance at a decent life. Unfortunately the whole plot moves very slowly and it comes with quite a few things that do not seem very likely. After 35 minutes, I was still wondering where this was going. Paul Walker is performing as usual and I was surprised to see Lambert Wilson having such a small part in the movie. Overall I would say that the performance of the actors was what made the movie watchable till the end. Without those actors I would have stopped watching this movie. The director did a decent work, but unfortunately based on a weak plot, with unlikely twists and slow story. I would not recommend going to the theater to watch this movie, DVD release is quite enough.

Decent low budget thriller that somewhat resembles Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island, of which a movie is also being made soon. Frankly, I'd rather watch that, but this is alright. There's nothing really gripping here, but the movie keeps your interest all the way through - albeit at times at the false assumption that it's building up to something truly horrifying, which it never does. But it's still quite interesting and you can tell they were really trying to make a good movie. They almost succeeded, if not for the truly wretched dialogue between the main character and this lady he meets. Good god, have these people EVER talked to a girl in their lives? In fact, all of the dialogue is pretty damn mediocre; you can tell the same person wrote it all because every character speaks the same way!

Oh well, aside from that, this movie is alright.