Review of Morgan (2016) by Kendall W — 16 Mar 2018

A fascinating story about a hybrid human developed by a corporation in the near future to be an effective killing machine. Unfortunately for the scientists that developed and raised Morgan, they have projected human emotions onto her, which she feeds on and responds to as she deems appropriately. Previous versions of this project had had numerous disasters in the form of stillbirths and prototypes that went on killing sprees, so when Morgan stabs on the of the researchers in the eye, 'fixer' Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) is sent in to make an evaluation as to whether the project can be saved.

As a horror movie, Morgan develops slowly, and the characters' actions can seem maddening to movie-watchers who wonder why the researchers are so slow to respond to the threat Morgan poses. In my opinion, this reluctance to admit what Morgan is was developed very well. Morgan is highly intelligent and has manipulated half the staff into treating her like a human being - a member of their extended family that they've come to love. Lee Weathers makes for a worthy antagonist to Morgan as the dispassionate outsider who refuses even to assign Morgan a gender identity.

As science fiction, Morgan works very well. It is a far better horror movie than the majority of jump-cut found footage logic-free ghost stories. Good horror plays on deep psychological fears, and here the fear is of children turning into monsters. The unwillingness of her extended family to admit this development is extremely realistic, and each individual involved has different reactions that are revealed in a skilled manner.