163) NEW HORROR RELEASES - M3GAN (2023)

"I have a new primary user now. Me!"

Director

Gerard Johnstone

Cast
Allison Williams - Gemma
Violet McGraw - Cady
Amie Donald - M3GAN
Jenna Davis - the voice of M3GAN
Ronny Chieng - David
Jen Van Epps - Tess
Stephane Garneau-Monten - Kurt
Lori Dungey - Celia
Amy Usherwood - Lydia

This year had a fair amount of horror movie releases I wanted to see. I'm now at the bottom of that list of must-see new horror titles. I still have M. Night Shyamalan's latest film "Knock at the Cabin" to watch. But as Shyamalan has more misses than hits when it comes to his films, I'm not overly eager to get to it. 

Meanwhile, I've heard a lot of good things about the sci-fi horror flick, "M3GAN" which was released last January, about a dangerous AI robot doll used to replace human companionship. 

I still wanted to check it out despite my opinion that the evil doll motif is overdone in horror.

The earliest horror movie within the evil doll subgenre I could find is "The Devil Doll" from 1936 which stars Lionel Barrymore and Maureen O'Sullivan. It's directed by classic horror director Tod Browning. He directed two of my favorite horror classics ever made - "Dracula" (1931) and "Freaks" (1932). 

Fastforward to 1963 with one of the more notable episodes of the "Twilight Zone" titled "Living Doll" which tells a story about an evil living conscious doll called Talky Tina. "My name is Talky Tina, and you better be nice to me," she tells Telly Savalas' character, Erich, as he takes out his frustrations with his young stepdaughter, Christie (Tracy Stratford).

The subgenre seemed to spike with the 1988 movie "Child's Play" - the movie that introduced the world to the evil "Chucky," a "Good Guy" doll possessed by the soul of fictional serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif). 

"Child's Play" spurred eight sequels between 1990 to 2017, along with a remake in 2019 and a television series starting in 2021 which is currently in its second season.  

The "Puppet Master" (1989) films also led to a string of sequels between 1990 and 2012. 

The genre reignited again with the 2014 movie "Annabelle" which is based on an alleged true case from the files of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren. It's part of "The Conjuring" movie series. 

There are some forgotten gems in the genre such as the made-for-TV movie "Trilogy of Terror" (1975) and "Magic" (1978) which stars Anthony Hopkins and Burgess Meredith. 

So, needless to say, this subgenre has been done over and over again. Clearly, the fear factor behind lifelike dolls and such never grows tiresome among audiences. 

I watched the unrated version of "M3GAN" for this review. And, honestly, I don't know what the differences are between the unrated and the theatrical version.
Anyways, in this movie, "M3GAN," which stands for Model 3 Generative Android, is a robotic doll that's programmed through artificial intelligence to serve as a friend for those in need of one. 
M3GAN's designer and programmer, Gemma (Allison Williams) takes in her eight-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw) whose parents died in a car accident. Gemma, who works for a toy company, is struggling for a new and profitable design idea for a new toy. Cady has no friends or companions as she deals with the loss of her parents and adapting to such an abrupt change of life.
Gemma's boss, David (Ronny Chieng), discovers her M3GAN project and wants her to scrap it. She attempts to demonstrate what the robot can do, but it goes terribly wrong.
Back at home, she's having trouble bonding well with Cady. So, she introduces Cady to a previous motion-capture robot she designed in college called "Bruce." 
Watching how much Cady enjoys talking to Bruce, she's inspired to finish her M3GAN project. 
Once it's completed and programmed, M3GAN is paired with Cady to be her companion. 
She shows David the completed project and how well the robot interacts with Cady. He's convinced this will be the company's big money maker and wants start promoting M3GAN right away. 
However, Cady's strong emotional attachment to her robot companion starts concerning her therapist, Lydia (Amy Usherwood). 
M3GAN, meanwhile, starts targeting anyone or anything that distresses or hurts Cady, including the neighbor, Celia's (Lori Dungey), intrusive and vicious dog which attacks Cady early on. Afterall, M3GAN is programmed to "protect" Cady.
As the story progresses, M3GAN begins acting independently of her programming, and protects Cady at any cost to anyone else. She even attacks a boy she sees bullying Cady.
Gemma starts concluding that M3GAN is more of a distraction to Cady's emotional trauma rather than a form of help. 
And she also starts suspecting her own robot is responsible for the attacks on those surrounding Cady which no one has witnessed. 
Based on these concerns, Gemma doesn't want to go through with the company's marketing campaign for M3GAN until all the "kinks" are worked out.
But M3GAN will do what she's "supposed" to do no matter what. 
What's different about M3GAN compared to other similar evil dolls and such is that there's really nothing wrong with the robot. It all boils down to better programming. Otherwise, the doll carries out what it's designed to do. The problem is that there's no cut-off point. As a result, it begins to act independently of its programming. All the while, it deduces actions and outcomes based on its programming. It's not evil necessarily. The underlying issue is that artificial intelligence is a replacement for nothing, especially human intelligence and companionship. There's nothing intelligent about AI. It's just an advanced form of garbage in, garbage out. 
The movie loosely carries the "boogeyman" that artificial "intelligence" will kill us and take over. The "Terminator" movies portray that premise best.  
There's a hint of plausibility in this story, which is a credit to the movie. As M3GAN is a computer, it can utilize other interactive systems around it including cars and virtual assistants similar to Alexa.  It leaves a lingering trepidation of "what-if." 

Violet McGraw in "M3GAN."

The "Child's Play" remake, by the way, scrapped the possessing evil spirit trope from the original franchise and switched Chucky's maniacal nature to a mechanical glitch. The capabilities of its reimagined Chucky doll and those of M3GAN are similar. It's a twist in the doll horror genre which reflects modern computer technology. 
M3GAN's puppetry is both mechanical-like in some parts, and fluid in others. Amie Donald plays M3GAN while Jenna Davis provides the voice. 
Despite the realism, it still takes a stretch of the imagination to accept that the doll is a lot stronger than any of the people it attacks and can become smarter than its designer.. 
This is what the 80s sitcom "Small Wonder" should have been. Remember that sitcom? It's one of the lamest sitcoms ever aired. If only this was the show's premise, that would have been fantastic! Maybe "Small Wonder" needs this idea as a reboot. I'm just sayin'.
The addictive nature of technology, family trauma, and distinguishing reality from fantasy are certainly the underlying themes in "M3GAN." The story keeps them simple and to the point. 

How much is technology really helping our day-to-day lives? There is a message, too, that family comes first over success and careers, along with a cautionary side of letting technology care for our children rather than parents or guardians.  
"M3GAN" is an overall entertaining movie that may spark a direction for upcoming movies to go. AI is hitting the mainstream. This movie hit audiences at the right time. Horror generally reflects social fears and anxieties. Maybe "M3GAN" will change the subgenre and lead to a technological trend in horror for the time being. Tech like this doesn't seem too far off.