M3GAN
Directed by Gerard Johnstone
Written by Akela Cooper
Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Jenna Davis
Runtime 1 hour 42 minutes
Rated PG-13
In theaters January 6

by Jaime Davis, Staff Writer

Creepy dolls are always following me. First, it was on my favorite soap opera that I watch with my grandma, The Bold & The Beautiful. About two years ago they introduced a brilliant, off-the-rails plotline in which a seemingly evil mannequin doll tormented the villain of the show, Thomas. And then I was asked to help search for the perfect creepy doll clothing for a friend, cause that’s her preferred aesthetic. Then I watched (and fell in love) with The Boy movies (The Boy and Brahms: The Boy II) thanks to MJ’s own Rosalie Kicks. For sure there’s a lot to love within the creepy doll genre and luckily there’s so much content to choose from - you’ve got May (one of my faves), the Annabelle franchise, all the Chucky in the world, and the Saw cinematic universe, just to name a tiny bit of what’s out there. And in the very first week of 2023, we’ve been blessed with the gift of M3GAN, my first favorite film of the new year. 2023 is going to be good.

I just knew I was going to love M3GAN, knew I would hold a very special place in my soul for her, the minute the trailer dropped and a dancing M3GAN sashayed her way into my heart, and the hearts of countless others who memed and memed and memed her dance to near death. For weeks, she was all over my FYP and timelines, with her off-putting moves and unsettling facial features. I couldn’t shake her! And I didn’t want to. It seems we’re a bit in a golden age of meme-able movie trailers, what with trailers for Barbie, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, the new Mission: Impossible (Tom! Cruise! Base! Jumping!), and now Plane (that movie title, omg) all recently going viral. Marketers, I don’t know how they do it. They’re little geniuses, one and all! And the makers of M3GAN are just as amazing. 

Produced by the absolutely next level dream team of James Wan and Jason Blum, M3GAN is in a bit of an interesting spot creatively as it’s a dress rehearsal for a prospective merger between Wan and Blum’s production houses (Atomic Monster and Blumhouse, respectively). The two producers have worked together before on the Insidious franchise, and individually their resumes are stacked with solid gold. Some of the highlights for Blum include Get Out, Whiplash, Ma, The Black Phone, the Paranormal Activity franchise, and Black Christmas. For Wan, as director there’s Malignant, Saw, The Conjuring, and Furious 7; as producer, The Nun, The Nun 2, Annabelle, and Annabelle Comes Home. If the merger actually happens, and M3GAN is any indication, we could be in for a real treat. The film came about as the entire producing team lamented the lack of killer doll movies out in the universe and sought to create one that was equal parts Terminator and Annabelle. The real star of the crew, however, is its screenwriter Akela Cooper (Malignant, The Nun 2, Grimm), who infuses the script with biting wit, social commentary, satire, and pure camp. Cooper’s deft skills lend a female lens to what could have easily become a cautionary tale of tech bro gone evil Dr. Robo Frankenstein, but instead we have something that’s nuanced, sensitive, wise, and funny as hell.  

Quickly in the film, we’re introduced to Funki, one of those hip tech companies with a hip West coast campus, the kind that offers their hip young employees that cool vibes lifestyle dripping with perks. Funki makes high tech toys for the youth, like their best-selling Purrpetual Pets, a hybrid Furby/Teddy Ruxpin/My Buddy/Kid Sister that eats, poops, and has more witty quips than Bea Arthur in an entire season of Golden Girls. We meet Cady (Violet McGraw) and her Purrpetual Pet ensconced in the backseat of her parent’s car as she and her parents brave a snowstorm en route to a vacation locale. Tragedy, unfortunately, strikes, and Cady is sent to live with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams), a brilliant roboticist and developer at Funki. Her boss, the amusingly stressed-out Funki CEO, David (Ronny Chieng, always a delight) is aflutter about the Purrpetual Pets knockoff about to hit shelves, and rides Gemma and her team to put the finishing touches on a PP that costs under $50. Unfortunately, Gemma’s been a bit sidetracked with her passion project - the kind of toy that’s never been seen before, that’s never been developed. The kind of toy that if a child had one, they wouldn’t want anything else. 

At first, Cady and Gemma struggle to bond, what with Gemma’s rules, Cady’s lack of socialization, and their combined trauma. After a moment of connection, Gemma’s inspired to finally finish what her lab’s been working on - the prototype for a Model 3 Generative Android, or M3GAN for short. She enlists Cady in some of the initial product testing, and David, of course, seeing dollar signs, sets the wheels in motion for M3GAN’s mass-produced launch. In the meantime, though, M3GAN and Cady spend a lot of time together. A lot and a lot of time together. To the point that Cady develops an intense attachment to the doll and M3GAN begins displaying some quite sinister behavior. M3GAN’s programmed to adapt and learn from each interaction, but should she be threatening, hurting even, anyone who so much as looks the wrong way at Cady? Probably not! But where’s the fun in that? And that is where the movie takes us - as M3GAN shows her skills to the people, proves what she can really do as a toy, she also comes to realize that the only thing she needs to answer to is herself. Oops - sounds like a bug, Gemma. 

M3GAN swiftly pounces on the whole “robots are taking over” anxiety, following in the footsteps of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Her, the Terminator franchise, and Ex Machina while forecasting a futuristic age when homes around the globe may include a family android, a timely notion considering last year’s excellent Kogonada film After Yang and Kazuo Ishiguro’s intriguing Klara and the Sun. When is a robot more than just a toy or tool, one with its own brand of humanity? Can they have their own inner worlds and realities? Excellent questions. 

But…M3GAN doesn’t get too deep with all that and it sure doesn’t need to. It’s pure, devious fun - an edgy, modern horror confection wrapped up in a bow just like the one M3GAN wears. Allison Williams is so enjoyable to watch as a whip smart 21st century mad scientist - her presence feels entirely at home in the Blumhouse universe. After the success of Girls, she appeared poised for classic leading lady status, but it’s been a pleasure (and a relief) to see her going on an entirely different tangent. Kudos to Williams (and her management team, or whoever dreamed up this career strategy). But, and I’m sorry to say, this movie belongs to our star, our queen, M3GAN. M3GAN is everything. M3GAN is mother. M3GAN is the most fun anti-hero to root for, when she’s shimmying down a Funki hall on her way to “play” with David, when refusing Gemma’s commands, when operating heavy machinery, when singing soothing lullabies to Cady. My dear M3GAN, we stan.