M3GAN Review
M3GAN is smart, slick and funny and could already be the camp horror movie of the year.
The film is directed by Gerald Johnston and follows Gemma (Allison Williams) a young robotics engineer who works for a company that builds AI toys. Gemma's life is upheaved when she is suddenly granted sole custody of her nine-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), after her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car crash in the opening of the film.
Despite making toys for a living, Gemma has no experience with children and is overwhelmed with her new parental responsibilities. Unsure of how to navigate parenthood or the topic of her sister's death, she does what she knows best and makes Cady an AI companion in the form a 4 ft tall robotic doll, Model 3 Generative Android – or M3GAN for short (played by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis).
In order to appease her boss, (Ronny Chieng), Gemma launches M3GAN early and pairs her with Cady as the test run. M3GAN 's primary goal is to protect Cady from emotional and physical harm, she is programmed to do so by learning and adapting from her surroundings as well as Cady's changing needs. M3GAN and Cady quickly become inseparable.
The plot isn’t groundbreaking and there are no real surprises. If you have seen the trailers, you would be aware that the companionship between M3GAN and Cady takes a sinister turn. Even still, the film is bizarre and fun enough that you don’t really need any massive surprises. M3GAN is a surprise in herself, she's camp, sassy and impeccably dressed. Johnston has no doubt done an excellent job of creating what will now be an iconic horror character forever (and from the looks of the internet - a gay icon too.)
That said, there are a few shortcomings by way of plot, particularly a few subplots with Gemma's colleagues that are not fully explored and appear to be thrown in haphazardly. Thankfully, this doesn’t take away from the fun of the film.
The film is a delight to watch, Johnston creates big, fun and ridiculous moments of comic relief between the tension and the jump scares.
The film also plays with satire throughout, even the opening scene of the movie is a cheesy Saturday morning children's TV advertisement, so from the get go, you know the film is slightly tongue and cheek. Johnston executes this in a way that the audience feels like they are in on his joke. That said, the film never fully dives into the satire completely, leaving an air of seriousness.
The film still manages to leave you with an unsettling feeling that there is a very real possibility that AI inventions could easily surpass their creators' intentions and control. Granted, the film doesn’t feel traditionally scary, but the plot is real enough that it gets you thinking. Great writing and solid performance from Williams, McGraw and Chieng makes the film feel short, fast and fun.
