Lazareth
by Rachel Willis
After a deadly virus strikes, a trio of women turn their home into a sanctuary, cut off from the outside and safe in director Alec Tibaldi’s film, Lazareth.
As years pass in this virus-plagued world, we watch Lee (Ashley Judd) and her nieces Maeve (Sarah Pidgeon) and Imogen (Katie Douglas) carve out rituals and chores to keep themselves going. With a truck that somehow still works, Lee makes trips into town for supplies, but as she warns the girls, things in town are bad.
There is a lot of information given in a small amount of time that stretches the thin cord of belief. After so many years, it’s hard to accept there are certain items still available. However, it’s interesting to see how these three women work together to maintain their fragile existence. As the film progresses, we get answers to several questions, but some things remain vague.
The two sisters, Maeve and Imogen, are the film’s strongest characters. Having little experience of the world prior to the pandemic, they rely on their aunt to keep them safe. Most of what they believe is taken on faith.
It seems as though writer/director Alec Tibaldi expects much of the same from the audience. It’s never clear what Lee’s motivations are. When Maeve’s eyes are open to various truths, her choices are unfathomable. Imogen never has much chance to develop as more than “girl smitten with new boy,” which, to be fair, isn’t too far out of the realm of possibility as she’s a teenage girl who’s never met a boy before.
The boy in question, Owen (Asher Angel), quickly threatens to upend Lee’s fragile world. The tightrope Lee has been walking threatens to fall from under her.
There is some tension after Owen arrives, but it’s never quite enough to make us fearful for our trio of survivors. We also don’t spend enough time getting to know who they are to care what happens to them, and the characters do things that contradict what we think we know of them.
If done well, these surprises can keep audience off balance, but when done poorly, it’s another thorn in a viewer’s side. Lazareth is an island surrounded by thorns, never giving anyone a chance to learn much of anything.
