Man-Made Monsters

What it is

A creator uses science to overstep natural boundaries — creating life, resurrecting the dead, engineering organisms, or fundamentally altering nature — and the creation turns destructive.

How to spot it

The plot contains ALL of: (1) a specific character or entity that creates, engineers, or resurrects something, (2) the act of creation crosses a natural or ethical boundary, (3) the creation turns against its creator or causes destruction.

• A scientist, inventor, or corporation is identifiable as the creator
• Other characters warn that the creation is unnatural or dangerous
• The phrase "playing God" or equivalent is used or implied
• The creation has autonomy or power the creator cannot control
• Hubris or ambition blinds the creator to the risks

Classic examples

Frankenstein, Jurassic Park ("your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could..."), Ex Machina, Splice, Alien (Weyland-Yutani engineering xenomorphs)

Contrast with

New Tech Leads to Disaster (New Tech Leads to Disaster is society adopting tech that backfires; Man-Made Monsters is a creator whose specific act of creation is the transgression)