James Wan and Jason Blum have been at the forefront of the horror genre for a couple of decades now. Between them, they’ve directed and produced some of the best horror films and franchises the world has seen in the past few decades. It makes sense that they would team up to nurture new talent in the director’s chair and with the script. Chucky is their inspiration this time out. With M3GAN 2023 gets off to a good start for the horror genre.
After a tragic car accident, nine-year-old Cady (Violet McGraw, Our Friend) is left to live with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams, Get Out). She is a very busy woman who is a roboticist for a toy company. When the young girl isn’t feeling very good her aunt introduces her to her latest project a life-like doll called M3GAN (Model 3 Generation Android) It is designed to be the child it is linked to best friend and companion and even helps the parent or guardian as it takes the role of a friend, teacher, playmate and or protector of the child. This choice by the aunt leads to very bad consequences for everyone involved.
Killer doll movies aren’t anything new in the horror genre but M3Gan has some fun aspects to it. The actresses that play and voice M3GAN do an exceptional job bringing this lifelike doll to life. The personality she has brought some laughs due to some liners and songs being sung at the most inopportune time. Her voice cadence was really on point. There were many moments when this doll sounded like a real girl which brought an authentic feel to the character. This was a key aspect if the film was going to work correctly.
As most horror films have this one had some pretty good kills and once the second half of the movie got rolling the killing started. M3GAN started using her maternal instincts to protect the little girl and gain its own conscience while it was doing so. The script by Akela Cooper brought the life out of this little doll and it was almost like the little girl and her aunt were expendable in the story. That’s how effective this story was. It did take a while to get started though. And a quick scene showing the aunt getting the idea to build the robot was very rushed but a small quibble.
The takeaways from this film are that parenting isn’t easy no matter who you are. Most of the time you can’t win for losing as a parent. In this day and age, there are so many things that can get kids’ attention as well as their parents and if kids turn out good citizens in society is a godsend. I had a rough life growing up and I continue to struggle. I had my issues with alcohol abuse and so forth but relatively speaking me and my brothers and sisters turned out alright. I can’t say that about a lot of kids, I’ve been around in coaching or schools I worked at. Good teachers, coaches, and parents are hard to come by today. This movie shows how important a personal touch regarding these people are in kids’ lives. And how important it is to be present in kids’ lives.
Another aspect is that it wouldn’t be the first time movies have tackled the threat of technology, and it won’t be the last, but technology isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sure we all have a new-fangled phone, computer, television, or even floor cleaner or coffee maker. Even cars are getting the moniker of “smart” attached to them these days. Everybody wants convenience in their lives. That being said, this film is a stark warning that technology isn’t the end-all-be-all, and it isn’t the replacement for parents or guardians.
M3GAN is a good January horror film that takes its PG-13 rating to the limit. It’s right on the verge of crossing the line but doesn’t go overboard with the blood and guts or the cursing. It has good performances from its two leads, the little girl and her aunt played by McGrew and Williams respectively, but the two people that play the android girl are the standouts in the movie. They bring humor and entertainment value to the film. The script has some good messages about parenting and technology that the world should take heed of. This is a fine counter-programming to some of the other holiday fairs in cinemas right now.
3 ½ stars
Dan Skip Allen
From the Fourth Row! 