Summary
Killer dolls go digital in this wickedly funny technophobic horror yarn.
From the opening scenes, a faux TV commercial for the in-universe toy company Funki, it’s clear that Blumhouse’s M3GAN has its tongue planted firmly in its silicon cheek. While the basic model of this hostile doll horror is familiar, it’s the campy world-building that will be remembered long after the credits have rolled.
After young Cady (Violet McGraw) loses her parents in a car accident, it falls to her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams) to care for her. Gemma is a roboticist for a large toy company, under pressure to produce a new product for her demanding boss (Ronny Chieng) and has little time for Cady. Gemma’s real passion project is the Model 3 Generative Android (or M3GAN for short).
You know where this is all going right? The lifelike M3GAN requires a human child to pair with, and soon Cady and her new companion are inseparable. Yet M3GAN is designed for two things: to protect Cady at all costs, and to learn and adapt quickly. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
In some ways, we’ve seen this all before. Twilight Zone’s ‘The Living Doll.’ George Romero’s Monkey Shines. Child’s Play. Hell, it was parodied in The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror segment ‘Clown Without Pity.’ Yet screenwriters Akela Cooper (Malignant) and James Wan (The Conjuring) are acutely aware of this. After all, Wan was partly responsible for introducing Annabelle to the world.
So, Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN dances in with an irreverent attitude that acknowledges all of this. Telegraphing the toy’s sinister turn from the beginning, we spend a lot of our time nervously laughing as the doll placidly watches events unfold with her resting murder face. It’s a matter of when not if, and Johnstone delivers a surprising amount of restraint for what could have easily been an on-rails genre picture. (That said, film was reshot to get down to a PG-13 rating after being deemed too violent).
Which, to be fair, it doesn’t entirely avoid. A couple of deaths into the film, everyone starts to cotton onto the doll being set to evil and reacts predictably. It culminates in the kinds of dumb decisions (mixed with a cocktail of avarice and grief) that makes a counterattack (almost) too late. This is not a spoiler, mind you: this is a formula.
It certainly helps that there are some excellent performances from the two young actors. McGraw is believably grief-stricken and obsessive over her new friend. Amie Donald, who is the child under the silicon mask (voiced by Jenna Davis) , gives the titular character an unnerving physicality. This is especially true of the Tik Tok friendly dances or sudden movements attached to a face shipped directly from the Uncanny Valley.
After taking us through this unnerving ride, M3GAN ultimately lands in safe territory with a wink at the audience. Leaving the door wide open for a sequel (which might confusingly be called M3GAN 2), it ticks off the last of the expected pieces in the modern genre game. Nevertheless, it might play to a formula but it has a hell of a lot of fun along the way.
2022 | USA | DIRECTOR: Gerard Johnstone | WRITERS: Akela Cooper, James Wan | CAST: Allison Williams, Jenna Davis, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 102 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 12 January 2023 (AUS), 6 January 2023 (USA)
