Robert Morgan first discovered his passion for film when he watched Fiend Without a Face (1958) with his uncle as a three-year-old. This started a lifetime infatuation with monsters, sharks, and insects. As his artistic expression progressed, some of his biggest creative influences became Francis Bacon, Edgar Allan Poe, Jan Svankmajer, the Quay Brothers, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Joel Peter Witkin, Hans Bellmer, Jan Švankmajer, Walerian Borowczyk, Charley Bowers, Ladislas Starevich, and Roland Topor.
His first entry into film animation was in 1997 via the student short The Man in the Lower Left-Hand Corner of the Photograph (https://vimeo.com/21523923) a short film that follows an old man surrounded by death and decay as he tries to recreate the happiness of his youth. There is a distinct sense of abstraction, and explorations of the existential, with a visceral, grotesque art style.
When asked what he hopes audiences would take away from his creations (Specifically on his 2023 feature film Stopmotion) he states: “I just hope they have a memorable experience that stays with them. I like to be haunted by films, so this would be my hope — that it continues to rattle around in people’s brains after they’ve seen it.” (Robert Morgan Discusses the Inspirations and Challenges of His Hand-Crafted Horror Movie ‘Stopmotion’ | Animation Magazine)
One of my personal favorite horror-tinged animated films is the live-action/stop-motion combination, Tetsuo the Iron Man (1989). Made by Shinya Tsukamoto, Tetsuo the Iron Man is a bizarre and surreal Japanese science fiction horror film that uses delightfully disgusting stop-motion animation to give the illusion of our protagonist turning into a literal Iron Man.
TSUKAMOTO THE IRON MAN | The Creation of Tetsuo
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1152178
Robert Morgan (filmmaker) – Wikipedia
https://www.animusfilms.co.uk/robertmorgan.html
The Man in the Lower-Left Hand Corner of the Photograph (1999)
Stopmotion Interview: Robert Morgan on How a “Sick Obsession” With a Short Sparked His Feature Debut