M3GAN

Have we learned nothing from eight Child’s Play movies?

Cast of Characters:
Gemma – Allison Williams
Cady – Violet McGraw
David – Ronny Chieng
Cole – Brian Jordan Alvarez
M3GAN – Amie Donald / voiced by Jenna Davis
Tess – Jen Van Epps

Director – Gerard Johnstone
Writer – Akela Cooper
Producer – Jason Blum & James Wan
Distributor – Universal Pictures
Running Time – 102 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violent content and terror, some strong language and a suggestive reference.

The Rundown: Gemma (Allison Williams) is a toy designer who’s boss, David (Ronny Chieng), has been riding her hard about coming up with the next big thing to compete against the rival toy companies. Despite David’s desire to continue their Furby-like Purrpetual Petz prototype, Gemma’s focus is on her new toy model called Model 3 Generative Android, aka M3GAN. Using artificial intelligence, the toy is a lifelike doll programmed to give parents a much-needed break by serving as a companion to their children.

Sounds legit. I see absolutely no issues whatsoever that could come about from this.

After unexpectedly gaining custody of her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) following the death of Cady’s parents in a car crash, Gemma enlists the aid of her new M3GAN prototype. What follows is a deep bond of friendship that grows between Cady and M3GAN, as M3GAN soon becomes self aware and sets out to kill anyone that gets in the way of her protecting her new best friend Cady.

Well, who could’ve seen that coming?

Initial Thoughts: M3GAN marks the first film of the recent collaboration between Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions and James Wan’s Atomic Monster Productions. While this is the beginning of January and nothing says January quite like crappy horror films the studios have absolutely no faith in, Blum and Wan’s track record speaks for itself. Wan is arguably the best name in mainstream horror today, and say what you will of all the dumpster fires Blumhouse has released, like a big-time home run hitter that also strikes out a lot, the studio can crank out its share of great hits when it’s on its A-game.

Even in January, though, maybe once or twice in the month, we get a pleasant “January surprise”. Yes, for the most part, we have to endure through turds like The Devil Inside, Texas Chainsaw 3D, or Underworld: Blood Wars, but sometimes our suffering is rewarded with the Paddington films or last year’s Scream sequel/reboot. Thankfully, we can add M3GAN as another January surprise.

Admittedly, I wasn’t really looking forward to this film, despite Blum and Wan’s names being attached to this. The trailers didn’t quite impress me, and, if anything, I was more taken by the instant meme craze that exploded on social media after the film’s initial promos more than the film itself. But color me surprised, ’cause I had a lot of fun with this movie.

The Good: Following in the footsteps of killer dolls such as Chucky from the Child’s Play franchise, Talky Tina from the original Twilight Zone series, and even James Wan’s own Annabelle from his Conjuring universe, M3GAN is a film that is highly absurd, knows it and embraces the absurdity with a gleeful wink. Like any good horror comedy, director Gerard Johnstone and writer Akela Cooper (who penned Wan’s delightfully deranged Malignant) strike just the right balance between genuine tension and goofy fun, taking the threat of the M3GAN doll seriously while also serving up humor that never upsets the tonal balance and works every bit as much as the scares. Johnstone wisely builds up to the mayhem slowly, allowing Cooper’s script time to establish the characters and their relationships, which in turn earns our investment in their survial. Cooper also delivers some insightful satirical jabs at our misplaced trust in technology and the consequences that may come about from parents who tend to overuse it as a babysitter for their kids, most notably in the way Cady develops an attachment to M3GAN that can best be described as unhealthy.

If not flat-out deadly.

Adding more horror credentials to her resume, following turns in Get Out and The Perfection, Allison Williams delivers a strong performance as Gemma, giving enough sympathy to the ambitious protagonist to make her a rooting interest even when she’s so clearly in over her head and dropping the ball with Cady. Violet McGraw is especially impressive as Gemma’s niece Cady. Given the cycle of grief her character is clearly going through, McGraw is tasked with handling some emotionally heavy moments, and the young child actress handles each of them effortlessly.

As for miss M3GAN, the eponymous killer doll is brought to spectacular life through the seamless effects work by Adrien Morot and Kathy Tse. Additionally, Amie Donald’s physical performance and Jenna Davis’s sleekly devilish voice work give tremendous aid in elevating the tension conjured up by M3GAN. Through a combination of stilted facial expressions and jerky movements, along with some very unexpected song choices, M3GAN takes us on a trip through the uncanny valley that works to wondrously unsettling effect.

Killer dance moves too.

Literally.

The Bad: To its credit, M3GAN doesn’t commit any egregious missteps, though fans of gore and extreme kills disappointed by the film’s PG-13 style tameness may beg to differ. Yes, it’s another killer doll movie, and it certainly isn’t reinventing the wheel here, but it still does what it set out to do well. After all, as the late, great Roger Ebert would say, “It’s not what a movie is about, it’s how it is about it.”

That said, there’s no denying the film’s rather predictable trajectory, particularly with those that M3GAN targets. Due to some well-telegraphed characters, who will go undescribed for the sake of avoiding spoiler territory, the foreshadowing on who will be facing M3GAN’s wrath becomes easy to spot, as if they might as well be wearing large, flashing signs that say, “Yep, I’m next!”

So, for sure, M3GAN may be running low on surprises; however, at the end of the day, entertainment is the end game here, and by that measure, the film succeeds. As is often observed with movies, much can be forgiven if it delivers the goods.

The Ugly: Watch out for your ears… You’ll know it when you see it.

Consensus: Balancing self-aware silliness with genuine tension, M3GAN’s take on the creepy killer doll concept proves to be a delightfully wicked hoot that will have you both shrieking and laughing in the same breath.

Silver Screen Fanatic’s Verdict: I give M3GAN a B+ (★★★).

About Post Author

bjmarlatt0716

See author's posts