Mankind’s Promethean quest for scientific advancement will always be the stuff of the best cinematic nightmares. It’s the root of classics likeFrankensteinand modern spins like the under appreciatedSplice, and now we’ve got a new entry in the catalogue of scientific breakthroughs gone horribly wrong withMorgan. The debut film fromLuke Scott(commercial director and son of Ridley Scott), starsKate Maraas a corporate troubleshooter sent to evaluate a terrifying incident at a remote, top-secret lab where she discovers the scientists have created a new form of evil inhabiting a human form.
While te 20th Century Fox marketing campaign is keeping the film under a shroud of mystery with phrases like “What Is Morgan” and “Don’t Let It Out”, the folks over atEWhave a bit more detail on the thrills and chillsMorganhas in store. Turns out the title character, played byAnya Taylor-Joyof this year’s horror breakoutThe Witch, is a synthetic life form engineered with enhanced strength, exceptional intelligence, and an innate connection with the online world. She also just doesn’t understand the morality of what it means to be human, and given that she’s evolving at a rapid rate, that means her first adolescent outburst reveals just how dangerous scientific progress can be.
Morganalso boasts a tremendous supporting cast, includingToby Jones, Rose Leslie, Boyd Holbrook, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh,andPaul Giamattiand is set to hit theaters on September 2nd. Watch the first teaser trailer below.
I might be biased because the arogance of human invention is one of my favorite horror tropes, but this is a really effective teaser, and bodes well for the feature debut from Scott. It’s menacing without revealing much, and that three note music cue is genuinely unsettling. The film looks cleanly shot, with a nice contrast between the drab, steely colors of a scientific lab and the miasma of vibrant colors (presumably when it all goes to shit). Plus, you just can’t fuck with that cast lineup. I wasn’t aware ofMorganuntil this morning, but it just shot to the higher ranks of my anticipated fall films.
Here’s the official synopsis:
A corporate troubleshooter (Kate Mara) is sent to a remote, top-secret location, where she is to investigate and evaluate a terrifying accident. She learns the event was triggered by a seemingly innocent “human,” who presents a mystery of both infinite promise and incalculable danger.
