My quick rating – 4.3/10. I’ll admit, the trailer for The Morrigan did get my attention. It takes a stab at mythological horror with a strong concept and some genuinely creepy atmosphere, then unfortunately trips over its own cursed artifacts and faceplants into the CGI bargain bin.
We open in “Pagan Ireland, 1500 years ago,” which is cinematic shorthand for – bad things are about to happen to people with poor armor and worse luck. Cue crusading soldiers, throat-slashing, and enough grim mood to let you know nobody here is getting a happy ending or dental coverage. It’s a promising start that suggests folklore-heavy dread is on the menu.
Fast-forward to modern day, where archaeologist Fiona (Saffron Burrows, who brings instant credibility just by showing up) is explaining the legend of The Morrigan, a vengeful war goddess with a serious grudge and apparently no hobbies outside of possession and murder. She heads to Ireland with her teenage daughter, Lily (Emily Flain), who is fresh off an expulsion and fully committed to the Teen Horror Movie Daughter Starter Pack. Sulking, eye-rolling “whatever” responses, and wandering off at the worst possible times.
The Irish scenery does some heavy lifting here with misty hills and ancient sites scoring points, though the script occasionally forgets basic geography. There’s a snake incident that raises a big question. Did The Morrigan also banish St. Patrick and sneak the snakes back in? Because Ireland is famously snake-free. Even Google would’ve caught that one.
Joining the expedition is Jonathon Horner (Jonathan Forbes), a character so aggressively handsy and glory-hungry that you can practically see the red “DO NOT TRUST” label hovering over his head. Sure enough, someone finds a mysterious burial casket, and the one person least qualified to open it decides to open it anyway. Archaeologists everywhere screamed into the void at that scene.
There are a few moments where the tension actually works. The possession arc with Lily builds some decent unease, and her glowing-eyed Morrigan look is legitimately creepy. Unfortunately, the film keeps undercutting itself with rough effects and logic-defying escape scenes, including a “throw lighter – random explosion – freedom” sequence that feels like the writer yelling, “We’ll fix it in post!”
The CGI animals, especially the snake and dog attacks, are distractingly bad. Not charmingly bad. Not “so bad it’s good.” Just “1999 cable TV original at 2 a.m.” bad. Every time the atmosphere starts to thicken, a rubbery digital creature shows up and kicks the tension down the stairs.
Character depth is pretty thin across the board, and the script never digs as deep as its own tomb. Still, Burrows and Flain do what they can with the material, and the mythological angle remains engaging enough to keep things watchable.
It almost wraps up in a respectable way – and then, like a horror villain with franchise ambitions, it pops back up for a sequel tease nobody asked for. The Morrigan may be eternal, but this script needed another rewrite ritual. It’s a decent legend trapped in less-than-legendary execution.
