Ever since the trailer dropped with the iconic machete dance break and a-capella rendition of Titanium, Twitter has been foaming at the mouth waiting for M3GAN to drop. The trailer’s spooky edit of Taylor Swift’s It’s Nice to Have a Friend was in equal parts camp and hilarious, but it didn’t reveal just how scary this film was. That’s a pleasure you experience seeing it on screen.
Get Out star Allison Williams plays Gemma, a robotic toy engineer who takes in her recently orphaned niece, Cady (Violet McGraw). Struggling with her own lack of maternal instinct and child-rearing knowledge, Gemma gifts Cady ‘M3GAN’, the four feet tall prototype ‘Model 3 Generative Android’ to be her new companion. That’s a decision that quickly becomes more than a little regrettable.
How was it?
The humanoid BFF robot turned barbaric killer is a fear that fits well into our modern world full of AI that’s ever growing in intelligence.
Whilst that’s a scary enough premise, M3GAN didn’t just explore technological advancements. Grief, family, and capitalistic greed all held just as strong – if not stronger – places in the movies story.
M3GAN was fleshed out into an intellectually compelling story rather than being the silly horror the trailer alluded it to being. It’s raking in at the box office and the surprisingly complex themes makes it clear why it’s so popular.
Akela Cooper’s screenplay was crucial in developing the story’s enjoyability. McGraw had dialogue that truly fit that of a pre-teen, and she performed the part flawlessly. Not only that, McGraw genuinely gave the strongest performance in the film. After showing her capabilities before in shows like The Haunting of Hill House, she’s proving herself as a name to watch out for.
The fear and tension created throughout the film was incredibly well done, and that was in large due McGraw’s intense and natural acting.
In conclusion…
Whilst thoroughly enjoyable as is, more manipulation of the setting, lighting, and non-human (or non-robot) factors would’ve gave this film the beauty it was missing to make it worthy of five stars.
All in all, very few films are successful at having you hooting and hollering one minute and hiding behind your hands the next. M3GAN is a fun horror that’ll be on everyone’s lips for a while yet; it’s definitely a film to catch in cinemas if you can.
Feature Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Journalism and English Studies student with an interest in film & tv, music, and politics.
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