When a film goes viral after a trailer, it can usually bring in some hype for audiences to peak their curiosity on what it is. In the digital landscape, that can make or break a film, which is the case for M3GAN, the latest horror film from Blumhouse and James Wan’s production with New Zealand director Gerard Johnstone at the helm. The film tackles the issues of artificial intelligence, a topic that we’ve probably seen in many sci-fi films. What’s different about this one is the AI happens to be in an android that is being marketed as a kids’ toy. We’ve also seen films where toys can have a mind of their own and go on a murderous spree, going from Chucky to Annabelle. M3GAN is aware of what kind of film it is and it works to its benefit in most places where it balances campiness and horror to an extent.

In M3GAN, Gemma (Allison Williams) is a roboticist who works at a toy company on the verge of developing a lifelike doll that is designed to be a child’s new companion. Things take an unexpected turn when Gemma gains custody of her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) following a car accident that killed her parents. Gemma decides to use the M3GAN prototype to help Cady cope with her loss and take care of her emotional needs. Unfortunately, deadly consequences follow with the lifelike doll once it starts becoming self-aware and ends up becoming overprotective of Cady. Gemma soon realizes the implications of having an advanced piece of technology and ends up learning as it grows and becomes unstable.

The film utilizes a mixture of practical effects with CGI to create M3GAN’s design, which creates this sort of innocence that the doll emulates while hiding its menacing features. By having dancer Amie Donald do the motion capture and Jenna Davis do the voice, M3GAN is displayed as a school girl with the body of a pre-teen like a typical American doll. It is surprising to see how the film creates this innocent persona around this android and slowly reveals its sinister nature as it later becomes self-aware. She goes from a sentient being learning about her new friend into a killing machine, giving us a mixture of the Terminator and Chucky in one package. Audiences get to see how out of control M3GAN gets once she gets a hold over her programming, making it difficult for Gemma to shut her down when things take a turn for the worst.

Despite its rating, M3GAN isn’t too shy when it comes to horror, but some of it can come out as funny and a bit ridiculous in some of the kills that the robotic doll pulls off. The film has its lighter moments when we see M3GAN singing to Cady or doing her dances before she attacks, which comes off as a bit silly to some. This doesn’t take away how tense the film can be once the danger comes lurking out as soon as the evil android starts hurting its victims. It is visually well-shot when we see these sequences with M3GAN at the Funki HQ where Gemma demonstrates the capabilities of her new invention. It can be hard to know when M3GAN starts taking control of other AI devices around her while not explaining how she can do so. It also follows some similar tropes that we get in identical horror films like this once it hits the third act.

Allison Williams and Violet McGraw show off their acting capabilities well but showcase their relationship between guardian and child, offering that human emotion. Cady has gone through a horrific traumatic experience and it has changed her. We see her attachment to M3GAN as being therapeutic but it also lends itself to be a bit psychological as it distracts Cady from feeling the pain of loss. Having these two in the film help elevate the narrative that the movie is going for and brings out the campy vibe that it brings, especially with the supporting cast like Ronny Chieng as Gemma’s overly demanding boss David. 

Among the cast, the true star goes to M3GAN. She is in every frame and it can be fun and terrifying at times to see her innocent face, not knowing what’s happening inside those circuits. Jenna Davis pulls off an amazing feat voicing M3GAN with her sweet sound and does some singing as well. The doll thrives when she is on that split personality between being charming and sinister. Her looks, robotic voice, and personality make the scenes she’s in so intense. It oftentimes becomes a little difficult to distinguish between is she’s real or fake, and that’s all thanks to the visual team. While it doesn’t produce enough scares or memorable kills, the film does offer enough of that creepiness coming off of M3GAN’s performance.  

M3GAN brings a refreshing take on the sci-fi horror genre with killer dolls and making it suitable for the modern age. It takes in some similar ideas from other sci-fi fare and a couple of similar horror films, but it ultimately creates an entertaining horror experience in the cinema. It touches really well on technology and its effects on young children, but it also acknowledges how they deal with pain and loss. In a world where robotics and AI are becoming reality, it does make these kinds of scenarios almost a reality and terrifying to even think about. Overall, M3GAN brings a nice balance between campy and horror, delivering a pleasurable experience to kick off the new year. M3GAN is sure to be a new horror classic among other films in this genre.   

M3GAN is now playing in theaters everywhere.