In some horror movies, fans want and expect to be scared out of their wits.new movie M3GANNot one of them. From the moment the trailer dropped, the film’s star — a child-sized AI doll — became a meme, mostly because of the scene where M3GAN dances creepily down a hallway.
Watching this movie as a comedy is the only way to properly appreciate it, because nothing it contains can be taken seriously. Not that the story doesn’t have some serious undertones, as Gemma (Alison Williams) is given custody of her niece, Cardi (Violet McGraw), after Cardi’s parents die in a car accident. Gemma, while willing to take her in, doesn’t quite have what it takes to be a parent because she’s obsessed with her job at a tech toy company.
Her latest invention is M3GAN (Amy Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis), a doll designed to be a child’s best friend, capable of spontaneous responses to any and all conversations. When Gemma tells the doll to protect Cady from all physical and emotional harm, she unknowingly reveals a more sinister side to M3GAN. This became a job M3GAN took very seriously, to the detriment of anyone or anything who dared to look sideways at Cady.
Directed by Gerard Johnstone and written by Akela Cooper, the film is nothing but scary if you’ve never seen a Chucky or Annabelle movie before. To be sure, M3GAN is creepy, with eyes wide open, unblinking, and most of the time in a motionless pose. But none of the scenes are set up to cause screams; instead, it’s all about anticipating what kind of havoc the dolls will wreak, and then laughing at what the filmmakers put on screen.
It’s best not to think too much about the victims of M3GAN’s killing spree, since they include kids and dogs that most movies would normally avoid. Most of the violence, however, is stunted; the film is rated PG-13, which means there is relatively little blood to be seen, and there are hardly any graphics. It’s a double-edged sword; friendlier ratings bring in more viewers, but also leave behind many unsatisfying horror scenes.
The filmmakers make no secret that artificial intelligence is something people should be afraid of, and include an Alexa-like home smart device as part of the story. The film seems to take place in the not-too-distant future, where technology has advanced a bit over what’s currently available–but not too far. However, this possible warning of where the world might be headed is overshadowed by the madness M3GAN presents.
you don’t go to the movies M3GAN For the acting, but Williams and McGraw are good anyway. With Donald doing the action and Davis doing the voice acting, M3GAN becomes a completely believable character that no one wants to be near. The funny Ronny Chieng wasted most of his time as the CEO of a toy company.
will M3GAN Still part of pop culture after the end of January? That’s unlikely, not least because it won’t make for a memorable horror film. But for the first major movie to hit theaters this year, it offers more than enough entertainment to justify its existence.
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M3GAN Now in theaters.
