WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Morbius, now playing in theaters.
Morbius has now released to some rather tepid at best reviews, with many critics failing to find much good in it. Part of it stems from the film being disjointed and having awful pacing, and this identity crisis is a key part of the problem. Morbius doesn’t know what kind of film it wants to be, but the most obvious choice -- a horror film -- was clearly the best route.
Morbius, due to its titular vampire, would seemingly make the movie a horror film first and foremost. This sadly isn’t the case, but when the lights dim and things briefly get spooky, the movie is a whole lot better for it. Not only should Morbius have embraced this, but it also would have benefited from a modern master of horror at the helm.
Morbius’ Best Moments Are When It's a Horror Movie
There are only a brief few moments throughout Morbius where the vampire movie feels like a real vampire movie. In fact, the majority of it feels like a generic superhero flick. Moments where it does live up to its potential, however, include Morbius’ transformation scene, the hospital scene where an innocent woman is killed and the villainous Milo preying on innocents.
The hospital scene especially felt like it was showcasing the tension inherent in vampires attacking humans. The fact that the movie makes it seem as if Morbius murdered the woman works even more, and if the revelation that Milo was turned into a vampire was pushed back even further, it would have made things better. Suspense keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, and Morbius could have at least engaged people more by making the hair on the back of their necks tingle.
Likewise, by adding other horror elements, the movie could’ve easily went beyond mere superhero audiences and changed things up in this genre. Plus, Sony would be more of a consistent alternative to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, offering a different experience to the superhero formula. It also would’ve made for a more enjoyable, much less generic experience, not to mention make Morbius as a character more tragic. In order to achieve this, Sony likewise should’ve hired an old pro at the superhero and horror game.
Aquaman's James Wan Should Have Directed Morbius
James Wan is a master when it comes to superheroes and horror. The former comes from his directing the 2018 splash hit Aquaman, which took on the huge task of reversing decades of Aquaman jokes, turning Arthur Curry into one of DC’s top characters. Likewise, Wan’s connection to horror goes all the way back to the original Saw. After revolutionizing horror with Saw, he did the same thing again years later for the supernatural horror genre when he created The Conjuring Universe of movies.
Given his dealings in both genres, it would’ve been a slam dunk to get Wan on board to make Morbius. His name is recognizable, and he has a strong track record as a director. As seen with the end results of Morbius, perhaps it would have been better to bring in a horror expert, like Wan, to take the helms of this film.
To see Morbius dabble in horror tropes, Morbius is in theaters now.