Many might not remember but the marketing for M3GAN started all the way back in April when they dropped the first official teaser poster online with the tagline “Friendship has evolved.” The movie also made its way through last years Cinema Con, but people still felt a little dubious about it. Plus, it was coming out in early January where a lot of movies typically get buried due to the studios not having the most confidence in them. When the first trailer for the movie debuted, the movie instantly became a meme all across the internet from TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. People were even recreating their own dance (the same one that M3GAN does in the trailer) and using different music to go along with it. Suffice to say, the buzz for this movie was picking up and especially after the social media reactions for it were glowing calling it “funny”, “campy” and above all else “chilling.”
Whether we like most of them or not, Jason Blum knows how to deliver box-office success with the majority of the horror films he produces. Not all of them are great, but what’s so unique is that they generally turn a profit on the films opening weekend. With the addition of James Wan serving as another producer and pitching the story, the collaboration between these two is set for a lot of great potential. The marketing for M3GAN be damned because the movie is so much better than how it’s being presented. This is easily the best movie to begin the year in what feels like a century. M3GAN is a fantastic horror movie that acts more as brilliant satire, that still features solid moments of tension and creepiness. There’s a distinctive personality to it and a surprisingly strong level of emotion between Allison Williams and Violet McGraw.
After loosing his parents, Cady (Violet McGraw) starts to live her new life with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams). Gemma, doing her absolute best, does all she can to make Cady’s life as comfortable as possible. To make things more at ease for Cady, Gemma (who works for a toy company) creates a lifelike doll that is designed to be the best friend and supporter of both parents and children. Because of her connection with Cady, M3GAN can watch, learn and listen as it teaches itself to be Cady’s instructor, playmate and protector. All things seem to go well at first, that is until artificial intelligence starts to make a mind of its own.
Calling M3GAN a horror movie needs to emphasized a little more in depth. It’s by no means the scariest movie ever made, but it for sure has great moments of eeriness and menace to it. Instead of it being a horror movie, M3GAN is more of a thriller that utilizes tension and dread very effectively. First time director Gerard Johnstone does a remarkable job of letting us know the entire surrounding and by also letting us feel the presence of M3GAN, even when we don’t see her on screen. M3GAN, as a character, is a wonderfully developed horror villain that will stand the test time for many years to come that doesn’t feel like a Child’s Play ripoff. Some might want to argue that M3GAN is basically just another Child’s Play knockoff, when it’s the complete opposite, aside from maybe the Child’s Play reboot from 2019.
One of the best aspects of M3GAN that’s gotten everybody talking is how funny it is, which blends in to its wonderful use of satire. M3GAN pushes so many boundaries on what a slasher film can be, what kind of expectations you can have with horror films like this while simultaneously acting as a commentary on how people are connected with technology. These are the types of stories that always reflect how dangerous the evolution of technology can be and even though M3GAN hits all those points, it’s still expertly satirizes itself in a way where it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The last thing this movie has is the surprising level of thought and bondage it has between our two main characters. Aside from the comedy angle this movie features, this movie emotionally delivers a story about an aunt and a niece finding some form of connection between the two. M3GAN almost serves as an amalgamation of their relationship and as the film progresses we see their relationship evolve based on M3GAN’s actions. Allison Williams and Violet McGraw both give fantastic performances in this movie.
Over the last year or so, we’ve really seen the horror genre excel on almost every single level imaginable. Horror films have been crushing it lately and if we keep getting films like this, we could be looking at one of the best times of being a horror fan.
Final grade for M3GAN: B+
Zane's take at the Cinema's 