M3gan is an amalgam of horror, sci-fi, and self-aware comedy that danced into the theaters last week on the heels of a wildly successful viral marketing campaign. Directed by Gerard Johnstone, the story follows brilliant roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) who has created a specialized android named M3gan designed to bond with and help care for children. Conveniently, her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) just lost her parents in a car accident and found herself in her Aunt Gemma’s care. As M3gan and Cady grow closer, the android starts developing problematic and peculiar behaviors. Gemma must get to the bottom of what’s happening before a nationwide roll-out of the M3gan toys puts everyone in danger.
M3gan is absurd and unhinged in the best way.
M3gan is an absolutely absurd concept, a terminator-esque robot wearing a cute dress…and is capable of horrifying acts of violence. The most important part of this film is that it knows exactly what it is and it leans into the absurdity of itself. We should have seen this coming as soon as James Wan’s name was heavily attached to this project. He seems to have taken a full turn into camp as of late, releasing the wildly successful Malignant last year and following it up with the goofiness of this film.
With exaggerated and bombastic performances from the entire cast, anchored by an excellent display of child acting from young phenom Violet McGraw, the movie keeps a consistent and bouncy tone, allowing the viewer to kick back and have a blast. A collective enjoyment of a throwback campy experience has heightened theater experiences across the country. A special shoutout is deserved for costume designer Daniel Cruden, who also recently worked on Avatar: Way of the Water, for his insanely good costume design for M3gan, who looks somehow soulless and sassy at the same time.
M3gan shows that it isn’t necessary to reinvent the wheel in the horror genre to find success. While everyone has been trying to create something fresh and new in this space, this film relies on a very predictable plot, similar to films of yore such as Chucky or Terminator. However, it adds its own flair to its existence in the tech era and keeps everything moving so quickly that you don’t even realize the formula until the credits roll. Mixing some tense moments with some laugh-out-loud levity, such as the Titanium moment (if you know you know), creates a wild ride for any viewer. M3gan will be a new face of the horror genre for years to come, with a sequel already greenlit and you may as well hop on board now. Just remember to go into this film looking to have fun and not take it too seriously and you will fall in love with M3gan just like the rest of the world.
Have you made the choice to explore the wild world of M3gan yet? Sound off in the comments below!