Morbius

Morbius, the Living Vampire rose up to antagonize Spider-Man in 1971, the same year the Comics Code Authority finally allowed vampires in comic books. He was a memorable recurring anti-hero in Spidey's animated series in the 90s. He's waited almost two years for his movie debut. Was it worth it? 

Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) and his adopted brother, Milo (Matt Smith), both suffer from the same blood disorder. Michael spends his medical career researching a cure. Milo finances his research. Michael's research involves mixing vampire bat DNA with human DNA. One day, Michael finally concocts what I'd like to call "Distilled Essence of Vampire," because after he takes it, he becomes the Living Undead. 

The Distilled Essence improves Michael's health and gives him echolocation. But it also gives him blood lust that his own patented artificial blue blood can't satisfy forever. Meanwhile, Milo somehow gets ahold of the Distilled Essence and also becomes the Living Undead. He has no issues with feeding on innocent people. So, it's up to Michael to use his Living Vampire powers to stop Milo's bloodlust.

Michael's rush to cure his bloodlust is a good premise. But it collapses when Milo turns evil. Michael denies Milo the Distilled Essence because of the side effects. That's fine. But Milo gets it somehow and vampirizes off-screen. A potentially compelling character turns into a one-note bad guy straight away. Milo's killing spree also lessens Michael's rush to cure his bloodlust. All we get is Michael noting that his blue blood is losing its punch. He only takes his bloodlust out on a boatload of mercenaries. That's when he initially vampirizes.

You'll leave with plenty of other questions. Is it supposed to be endearing that young Michael gives young Milo his name (it was originally Lucien) because his other roommates were named Milo? Why does he go along with it? Michael tests his D.E. on a mouse, who dies and comes back. Do we have a vampire mouse on our hands? But the most noticeable questions come from Michael Keaton's return as the Vulture in the mid-credits. How is that supposed to tie into any future films?

But I can't stay mad at it. Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson make for an interesting duo as Agents Rodriguez and Stroud, the FBI guys on Michael's case. Milo's first kill, a nurse in Michael's hospital, is set-up to make us think it is Michael doing the deed. It's a strong bait and switch and the scene is perfectly creepy. Milo goes all out embracing his inner bad guy. He maybe a confusing character but he is entertaining. Some strong makeup work gives Michael and Milo their sickly looks. Their CGI vampire forms look a bit obvious, but them switching back and forth works well. The best effects come from Michael's echolocation powers.

Morbius isn't a strong superhero or horror film. But at 104 minutes, it at least knows when to quit. You can see it if there's literally nothing else available. You can see it if you have nothing to do on a slow day. But I think there's plenty of somethings this year and this month. Hopefully, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (Part 1) will satisfy your need for anything Spidey related this fall. This month alone has plenty of reasons for me to go to a theater. You'll read about them soon enough.