By Seth Lukas Hynes
M3GAN
Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw and Amie Donald
Rated M
4/5
M3GAN is a tense, funny and surprisingly nuanced sci-fi horror film.
After losing her parents in a car accident, a young girl named Cady (Violet McGraw) bonds with M3gan, an AI doll created by her roboticist aunt Gemma (Allison Williams).
M3GAN has solid, moving performances and a steady, rising sense of unease, as the title robot grows more defiant and unpredictable. The plot draws tension from multiple fronts: M3gan taking her directive of protecting Cady to violent extremes; Cady growing too attached to M3gan and not adequately dealing with the loss of her parents; business interests pushing an untested (and unsafe) M3gan to market.
M3GAN cleverly engages with themes of grief, responsibility and children maturing beyond their guardians’ control, but never takes itself too seriously, with witty dialogue and moments of campy carnage. The schlocky action sequences may put off some viewers, but these add to the film’s darkly humorous tone. The climax may be a little too silly, but it’s still viscerally and emotionally satisfying.
M3GAN is reminiscent of the 2019 Child’s Play reboot, as both films feature machine learning running amok through a seemingly wholesome children’s toy. M3gan herself nicely sidesteps the uncanny valley: with her synthetic look and eerie stillness, she is clearly non-human, but her behaviour causes us to warm to and then fear her.
M3GAN is a smart, amusing and extremely well-paced sci-fi horror film, and has a limited Victorian cinema release.
