The Killer Doll Concept Gets an Upgrade
Calling horror movies a genre is doing them a disservice. While the term horror is a good overarching term, horror movies themselves fit into dozens of subgenres. Supernatural thrillers, gorefests, theater of the mind, and more. Over time, one of the most enjoyable of these is the self-aware horror film. These are the movies written clearly by horror fans. They know all the tropes. They know what fans want to watch because it is what they want to see in a movie. Heck, sometimes even the characters know they’re in a horror movie.
M3GAN comes to the big screen by way of James Wan’s Atomic Monster Pictures. Wan built his career producing, writing and directing for franchises like Saw, Annabelle, and The Conjuring. (He has since gone on to projects like Aquaman and the Fast and the Furious franchise, but his roots are in horror.) Wan wrote the story for M3GAN, with the screenplay written by Akela Cooper (Luke Cage, Malignant).
The premise of M3GAN is relatively simple. Gemma (Allison Williams) is tasked with becoming the legal guardian of her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw) when Cady’s parents are killed in an accident. A type A personality with no parenting skills or training, Gemma instead develops a companion for Cady. Being a genius toymaker, Gemma adapts the Model 3 Generative Android (M3GAN).
Rushing to complete the doll, Gemma leaves out small details like parental controls or a framework to deter violent behavior. She doesn’t think of things like limiting time with M3GAN. In fact, the doll works better, the more it learns. It learns more by being with Cady. Soon, the two are inseparable.
Small details like screen time, the pairing process between Cady and M3GAN, and Gemma’s previous successful projects help to serve the underlying premise of the film. In short, it’s a cautionary tale about overdependence on technology. It’s just delivered in the form of an acrobatic, singing, dancing, lifelike doll.
The movie itself is written, paced, and shot in a formula that audiences should find familiar. It hits a ton of the usual tropes. There are shots that pay homage to earlier slasher and killer doll films. But, the design and the modern backdrop make it still feel fresh. There is so much to the movement, sound work, costuming and dialogue that make M3GAN herself feel revolutionary.
Then there’s the humor. It would have been easy to take the familiar approach of tired one-liners. Fortunately, Cooper takes a different approach. Instead of going the Chucky/Freddy route, M3GAN’s lines are so blisteringly straightforward that they catch the other characters off guard. This fits the character, an artificial intelligence who is itself still a child, better than force feeding puns and sight gags. The argument could be made that M3GAN is closer to Ava from Ex Machina than any previous killer dolls.
Williams heads a small but excellent cast. She portrays Gemma in a career-first woman who is short on empathy but trying to do the right thing. McGraw’s Cady is emotional, lost and lonely, and she sets up M3GAN the way a great straight man sets of a comic. Amie Donald (body) and Jenna Davis (voice) help to bring M3GAN from sweet to sinister. Other excellent cast members include Ronnie Chieng, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, and Stephane Garneau-Monten.
Anyone interested in M3GAN won’t have to go far to find her. In addition to opening in theaters in January 2023, the character positively erupted on social media. The Twitter and Instagram accounts are run in character, and live-action dancers have appeared as M3GAN on the Tonight Show, The Today Show, at an NFL halftime, and more.
M3GAN is a self-aware, funny, and enjoyable thrill ride. Give her a visit if you get the chance. You’ll laugh. You’ll learn a few things. Maybe you’ll even make a new friend.
Visit m3ganmovie.com for more info.