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The worship of the Morrígan is nearly as old as time, dating back to roughly 3000 BC. In terms of raw elemental power, she rivals a force like Gaia, the very breath and blood of the land itself. Yet, history has been unkind to her. In Irish lore, she was a terrifyingly complex sovereign; in modern literature, her role was flattened to fit the needs of the “wicked sorceress” trope. While pop culture often lazily grafts her onto Arthurian legend, those who hold The Mists of Avalon as the best may need to head back to school to “unlearn” the sanitized version of the goddess they’ve been sold.
Colum Eastwood’s expansion of his short film proves he’s done the homework. He frames the Morrígan not as a simple adversary, but as a goddess of death, regeneration, and rebirth. This is the core belief of Fiona (Saffron Burrows), a woman battling a modern world designed to “steal a lady’s thunder.” The film’s strongest thematic tissue lies in the parallel between the ancient and the modern: Fiona is reeling from a husband who has abandoned her and their daughter, Lily (Emily Flain), while being professionally bled dry by Professor Jonathan Horner (Jonathan Forbes). He is a leech who steals from his TAs while the world turns a blind eye.
As a film about fighting the establishment, the bones are all there. Eastwood opts for a dense slow burn that occasionally feels muddled by several subplots. The pacing requires patience, but the payoff lies in the awakening of Morrígan’s spirit in those willing to accept her. She is a goddess of war who demands victory at all costs, and her guardianship over the women in this film is a brutal one: she demands they stop letting men control them. To witness this transformation is to see a film that fortunately avoids the jump-scare traps of Halloween or The Exorcist, opting instead for a visceral, grounded possession.
The film centres on the fictitious Annan Island, where Fiona believes the Queen’s remains are enshrined. While sites like Newgrange are historically linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann, Eastwood’s use of a fictional tomb-shrine allows the stakes to heighten beyond archaeological fact.
Where the film truly succeeds is in the “ghoul” herself. When Lily is possessed, she isn’t just a monster; she is a force of nature reminiscent of Carrie. She is the literal manifestation of reclaiming ownership. Ultimately, the film is a dark coming-of-age story. Lily has been rejecting authority her entire life, but through the Morrígan, that teenage rebellion is weaponized into matriarchal authority. To give the film its plot, the mother must decide whether she’s going to help her child or impede her.
Uncle Francis (James Cosmo) represents the past attempt to suppress that power, leading to a question of faith where William Friedkin’s influence begins to bleed through. The standoff between mother and child is far more captivating than the supernatural kills. In the world of The Morrigan, sovereignty is everything, and revenge is a dish best served in a foggy night at a moor.
3½ Stars out of 5
The Morrigan Movie Trailer
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