"M3GAN" Review: When Killer Dolls Play It Safe
M3GAN has the potential to be a pop-culture icon. The memes that have come from the trailer alone have been enough to have her ascend to memorable villain status. However, the film itself is a paint by numbers horror movie that, unlike its robotic star, doesn’t have the same amount of life and punch!
After her parents die in an accident, Cady (Violet McGraw) has to live with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams). It’s quite evident that Gemma hasn’t had too many touch points with children. Her house is a nerdy roboticist’s bachelorette pad, equipped with collectibles and an Alexa-type device that runs the house. To Gemma’s credit, she wants to fight to keep her niece with her instead of Cady going to live with her father’s parents. She wants to fill the void she sees in Cady’s life while simultaneously wanting to please her boss David (Ronny Chieng) in getting a new toy to market.
Gemma figures she can solve both issues with her Model 3 Generative ANdroid aka M3GAN (voiced by Jenna Davis and played by Amie Donald), a prototype of what could be a game changer in toys. A doll that is continuously learning the child it’s paired with and told to protect her sounds like a great idea! Right? Wrong! Let the dangers of a sentient Artificial Intelligence (AI) manifest!
There are so many things going for this film. For starters, the M3GAN doll body and face is horrifically realistic and yet the wig is awful. So this villain has the physical characteristics to be memorable. The film starts with a realistic promo for a Furby-like toy for today’s kids. You can feed it via an app and the physical toy responds. If you over-feed it, it poops. It’s so over the top but grounded in today’s reality, which underscores the films theme of relationships. There is a constant nod to our connection with technology and one another as human beings. The fight between what we pay attention to more, tech or the ones we love is real! The tension created by director Gerard Johnstone between M3GAN and the adults who realize something is wrong is palpable. This is largely due to the cinematography of Peter McCaffrey and Simon Raby (director of photography). The frame hides M3GAN in shadow when needed and puts her on full display at other times.
When the movie leans into its satirical nature and the themes it explores, it’s a blast, but it takes itself too seriously more often than not. It’s as though it knows it comes from a long line of killer doll movies and is afraid to buck the rules or step out of line by making memorable kills or noteworthy dialogue. The best performances come from Williams, McGraw and the physicality of Donald as your standard horror leads. Yet, it’s probably because they are the best developed characters on the page. Chieng’s David is supposed to be the self-centered, berating boss but his lines are vapid and poorly delivered. Everyone else in the film seems to be set pieces to get us from Act 1 to Act 3.
The best moments are probably not meant to be funny, like the cop who says “I’m sorry, I wasn’t supposed to laugh at that” or M3GAN playing “Toy Soldiers”. Each set up for a genuine scary moment is stress inducing until its underwhelming finish. I’m assuming the PG-13 rating kept M3GAN from going for the fences. Instead we get a bunt that should definitely bring viewers in for a streaming platform view at home, but not the home run in theaters! Save your theater money, but definitely grab some popcorn when this hits whatever streaming platform it will land on.
Rating: C
Check out some of the best memes to come from the trailer:
