Morgan (2016)

A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being.

Director:

Luke Scott

Writer:

Seth W. Owen (as Seth Owen)

Stars:

Kate Mara, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rose Leslie

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Mara	...	Lee Weathers
Anya Taylor-Joy	...	Morgan
Rose Leslie	...	Dr. Amy Menser
Michael Yare	...	Ted Brenner
Toby Jones	...	Dr. Simon Ziegler
Chris Sullivan	...	Dr. Darren Finch
Boyd Holbrook	...	Skip Vronsky
Vinette Robinson	...	Dr. Brenda Finch
Michelle Yeoh	...	Dr. Lui Cheng
Brian Cox	...	Jim Bryce
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Dr. Kathy Grieff
Paul Giamatti	...	Dr. Alan Shapiro
Crispian Belfrage	...	Charles Grimes
Amybeth McNulty	...	Morgan Age 10
Jonathan Aris	...	David Chance

Storyline

Lee Weathers is a "risk-management specialist" for genetic-engineering company SynSect. She arrives at a rural site hosting its L-9 project, an artificial being with nanotechnology-infused synthetic DNA named Morgan. The "hybrid biological organism with the capacity for autonomous decision making and sophisticated emotional responses" is smarter than humans and matures quickly, walking and talking within a month and physically a teenager despite being five years old..

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Plot Keywords:

biosynthetic creature | humanoid | interrogation | violence | younger version of character | 

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Taglines:

Don't let it out

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal violence, and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

2 September 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Morgan

Filming Locations:

Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$504,908, 9 September 2016, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$3,912,052, 2 October 2016

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,315,248

Company Credits

Production Co:

Burk A Project, Scott Free Productions, TSG Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Sullivan and Michelle Yeoh also starred together in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2" (2017).

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Goofs

In the opening scene, during the recording that Lee hears, Dr. Shapiro's first name is Ben, however, in the credits it's Alan.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Kathy Grieff: [enters the holding cell] Hi, darling. It's me. I thought we'd have lunch together today. Oh, angel, you look sad. You know, it's a very, very natural thing. It's actually a very human thing to feel sad. But emotions aren't bad.
Dr. Kathy Grieff: I'm sorry, baby. I'm still trying to get them to change their mind and let you out for a little bit.
Dr. Kathy Grieff: [Morgan suddenly lunges at her and begins stabbing her] No! Get off! No! Oh, god!

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Connections

Featured in The Late Late Show with James Corden: Kate Mara/Michael Kelly/Britney Spears (2016)

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Soundtracks

All the Morning Birds
Written and Performed by Jolie Holland
Courtesy of ANTI-

User Reviews

If you liked "Cube" or "Event Horizon," you'll like MORGAN

The film MORGAN is one that you'd file under decent attempt. Directed by Ridley's son, Luke Scott, you wonder if the apple doesn't fall far from the tree or the talent gets passed down trough genes, well, don't expect MORGAN to be on the same level as Ridley's "Alien," that's for sure, but again, a decent attempt is what it is, the closest to a compliment I can give the film at this point.

Kate Mara plays a corporate risk management officer, a troubleshooter, and she's sent to a top secret location to investigate and evaluate a recent accident, she's supposed to be there to find out what went wrong and judge the asset in terms of the overall profit. At this top secret location, scientists have successfully created what is perceived to be the perfect human (Anya Taylor-Joy) but turns out, she comes with her own set of unpredictable threats.

What I can appreciate about MORGAN is that it takes familiar concepts from the world of science fiction and makes it its own. Creating life out of nothing or creating a life that's flawless has always been a fascination for ages. The film has its own way of addressing that. It's not perfect but the build up, the intensity, and the way things escalate as soon as situations go sideways, they're all well-paced and shot quite nicely. Definitely the one that stands out the most is young actress Anya Taylor-Joy, she already impressed me in "The Witch" earlier this year, and so her cold, calculating, fearsome performance in MORGAN only solidifies her reputation as the latest incredible force to be reckoned with. Better watch out for that one, she's going to go places. With its ensemble cast and its emphasis on keeping you guessing till the very end while wowing you with fight sequences and a big reveal, MORGAN is just the right dose of horror/sci-fi/thriller for us fans of such films as 1997's "Cube" or "Event Horizon" -- Rama's Screen --