Michael Morbius isn’t any ordinary doctor. He’s a brilliant Nobel prizewinner who’s spent his whole life as a crippled victim of the very blood disorder that he so desperately wants to cure. And he’s always worked in the face of a ticking clock.
Michael’s body is ravaged and frail. At times he can barely hobble around on his ever-present crutches. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that his time is running out.
However, it’s then that his efforts to combine human DNA with that of a resilient animal species—the vampire bat, for instance—is met with a breakthrough.
Now in most cases, a study of this sort would require years of careful observation, closely regulated tests and evaluations. Anything less would be unethical and borderline illegal.
But Michael doesn’t have that kind of time. And besides, indications are that this DNA concoction might cure all sorts of other human ailments. What do laws and scientific rules matter when humanity is at stake?
So, Michael gets financial backing from his childhood friend Milo—who also suffers from the same crippling disease—and makes arrangements to continue his work on a secluded ship in international waters.
Then, Michael injects himself with the vampire bat-derived drug.
After painful convulsions, agonizing physical torments, Dr. Michael Morbius rises up … a new man! He’s miraculously fit. Incredibly strong. Stupendously fast. Why he’s virtually a superhero. It’s amazing!
And then it isn’t.
At the peak of his heightened state, the good doc realizes that he’s no longer very good. That’s because he’s now driven by an undeniable thirst for human blood. Shortly thereafter, he loses control of his mind and body and literally kills and consumes all of the hired security men onboard the ship.
When Michael regains control of his faculties, he frantically begins searching for a new solution: a way to stabilize his condition. For the time being, he can rely on his own invention to—an award-winning artificial blood mixture—to curb his hunger. But what happens when that artificial substance no longer suffices? And, for that matter, what happens if this work finds its way into the wrong hands?
Yes, Michael’s discovery is a miracle. But it’s also a horrible curse. And it’s only a matter of time before someone else uses it to unspeakable ends. It’s only a matter of time before he might use it to unspeakable ends.
The clock is once again, ticking.
Michael is very close with a female doctor named Martina. Their relationship slowly progresses from a professional one to a romantic one. And after Michael’s work puts Martina in danger, he goes out of his way to protect her. She, in turn, is ready to give up everything for his wellbeing.
There is a sense that Michael’s work is a bit self-serving. Still, he’s obviously passionate about helping others with his disease. He rushes to help patients under his care. And he proclaims, “I should have died years ago, Martina. Why am I still alive if not to fix this?!”
A doctor notices Michael’s brilliance at a young age and takes steps to help the gifted boy get the education he’s too poor to obtain on his own.
The presupposition of evolution is foundational of Michael’s genetic work. He believes he can accelerate the evolutionary process that, on its own, would eventually eliminate mankind’s maladies. In fact, someone else who takes Michael’s vampire DNA concoction marvels at his improvement. “We’ve evolved,” he tells Michael. He also cries out, “I am the resurrection!”
When it’s discovered that Michael is very possibly a vampire, a detective enters into an interview room with a vial of holy water for protection.
Martina wears a formfitting tank top while lounging around at home. She and Michael also embrace and kiss passionately.
After they go through a drug-induced physical conversion, both Michael and another man take the time to admire their bare ripped and toned torsos (from waist up) in their home mirrors.
Early on, Michael slashes his palm with a large knife and draws out a cave full of swirling vampire bats. He later uses his power over those bats to attack and slash at an opponent.
Once Michael gains his newfound abilities—which give him amazing strength, speed and hearing, along with razor sharp claws and teeth—he leaps into superfast, time-slowing battles. (He and his vampire opponent both take on a snarling part-bat/part-human visage with bloody eyes and savage-looking, needle-point teeth.)
Michael brutalizes a large group of men with guns, slashing their abdomens and throats and throwing bodies around like dolls. He also feeds on several men—though the neck flesh tearing is kept just off camera. Another vampire-charged attacker rips at groups of men and police officers, too. We see him very quickly slashing people in real time and sometimes in slow motion.
We’re told that the human victims are drained of most of their blood. We see a couple stalking attacks from a distance as a vampire takes the time to feed on his victim. And we’re shown the neck wounds, bloodied clothes and some small pools of blood near the victims. For all of that, however, the movie mostly spares us from the full gore of the attacks.
Michael and his vampire foe have several building-jumping and subway-station battles. They smash through walls and slam one another up against concrete columns and large metal pipes. Michael kills someone by ramming a needle full of something poisonous into his chest. Martina is attacked and wounded. She has her neck ripped open and drained. Michael torturously breaks the bones in a street thug’s hand.
Police and others shoot at the vampire attackers, but bullets seem to have no effect or are dodged with superspeed.
We see victims of a crippling blood disease. Children are hooked up to blood transfusion machines. One boy almost dies when one of those machines blows a fuse.
We hear one f-word, four or five s-words. A few other crudities include uses of “crap,” “h—” and “a–.” God’s name is misused once or twice.
Michael asks Martina to inject him with an experimental drug. He then drinks multiple bags of a light-blue artificial blood. (He also drinks a bag of human blood.)
Milo throws back multiple shots of tequila in a bar. (Along with lots of other drinkers.) We also see his room littered with open prescription containers and bottles of wine.
While on the run from authorities, Michael crosses paths with a group of counterfeiters. He runs them out of their lab and uses it for his work (with the movie obviously seeming to justify his actions).
Morbius may technically be a Marvel superhero/horror hybrid (albeit one that Sony has the legal rights to these days), but star Jared Leto and crew do everything they can to help you forget that movie lineage. The film itself is, ironically, fairly lifeless, with a barely serviceable storyline and charmless characters.
At the same time, it’s kind of gruesome feeling, even if it keeps the blood and guts to a relative minimum. Still, it’s safe to say kids sure won’t want to wake in the middle of the night to see this hero gazing at them from their bedroom wall, let me tell ya’.
I can say that there are a few nice action-focused special effects and cinematography shots mixed in with other more muddied bits. But everything else feels completely predictable and … meh.
Think of every “good guy” vampire trope you can dream up (minus any sparkling skin or intense teen angst), and that’s pretty much what you get with Morbius. The only thing that’s missing is a coffin for the reluctant blood sucker to crawl into. Maybe the filmmakers were saving that space for your expectations.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
