Movies these days often have an important message about how our society acts in our current time. These films often can tell us who we are as humans, the potential we can have in our own lives and even what we should be wary about. There are so many valuable lessons that we can all take away from, within a story being told in film. Social commentary is often important for us to reflect what kind of people we are in the world. At the same time, a movie needs to entertain us and deliver a fun and exciting on screen escape. M3gan is the exactly those two things. This movie takes its silly premise, of an A.I. operated life size doll, that becomes friends with a child. Then it ramps up to a whole new level of craziness. Very much like the franchise of Chucky, there is a new killer doll out in the world that is perfect and her name is M3gan. She can really do it all. The audience is gifted so much from this character. She delivers us brutal kills and extremely funny one liners. M3gan is an absolute masterpiece. The year can end already, because we have the best movie of the year. It’s gonna be tough to beat this one. What an amazing and creative horror movie. Love the tech and direction they went with this one! M3gan is my best friend til the end! Let me tell you why this movie is so great.
I honestly have a sweet spot for movies that have “evil” organizations in them. We have seen it in Jurassic Park with EnGen, Alien with Weyland Yutani Corporation, Skynet in Terminator and so many others. By giving us a tech company that invests in children’s toys, with smart A.I, you know something bad is bound to happen. Playing god in movies and trying to create life close to humans, can have some dire consequences. M3gan perfectly builds a world that we are not to far from. Even in a behind the scenes conversation, the filmmaker talk about how close we are to having something like the M3gan doll. The made up corporation seems right out of the real world. From it’s fake commercials and advertising tactics, we have seen this in the real world. We can easily connect to the movie because of it. It is not that hard of a concept to believe it isn't real. M3gan is born out of the interest of money and also replacing responsibility of taking care of a child, from their caregiver. These are two things that show greed and selfishness. A slippery slope that leads to disaster and for good reason. The story itself is straight forward and didn’t need to be complex. Although simple, the red flag warning of where we are heading as a society, is in plain sight. The lesson is not driven too hard that it does not take away from the comedy and chaos of the movie. They don’t take the story in a direction of a serious manner. They really leaned on the cleverness and silliness of it all. The premise is ridiculous in the best way possible. They knew that direction would be the real driving force of the movie. Which has created a tone that a lot of audiences will appreciate.
With such a story, you do need a great list of characters to go down this journey with. Allison Williams plays an expert in her field within the tech company. She is brilliant in the movie and you can really sympathize with her from the start. She is someone who gets the responsibility of a child out of nowhere and we can see how desperate she is to gain control of her life because of it. Balancing deadlines from work and taking care of her niece has really been a whirlwind in her life. It is understandable to see what she does best which is quickly finding the solution. By creating something that can fix both her problems, we begin this nightmarish adventure. With the sense of urgency, she did not plan things out the right way and we can see the outcome. With Violet McGraw, you can tell that she really is a talented kid actor. She held a lot of emotional weight for her character. There is always a sense of sadness and anger behind her eyes. Trauma is rough and it is showcased perfectly in the movie. Then comes M3gan, who is played by Amie Donald. A clever performance of wittiness and terror. A well balanced character that steals the spotlight every time she says or does anything. The movie really has a great ensemble cast that plays off each other with ease. With these performances, the movie makes you laugh, cry and become fearful. I built a connection with these characters and that's important.
I have to give this movie a standing ovation on what they were able to pull off with the comedy and horror. It feels perfectly balanced with the jokes and the kills. It does take a bit for the action to kick off, but every moment leading up to it, had value. The technology aspect and corporation dynamics seemed interesting enough to progress the plot. This could have been its own sci-fi type of movie with just these things. With the amount of jokes and comedy, it was awesome to see the switches to horror scenes. When it mattered, the movie slows down and builds up tension. The suspense and scares are fully effective. M3gan is a threat and an unstoppable one at that. She is funny and deadly. This is what makes her such an amazing character. She’s well balanced and complex on so many levels. With her constantly learning, adapting and changing, she becomes even more ruthless. She doesn’t hold back or care for those who get in her way. She will easily become a horror icon with the rest of the greats. I can easily see this movie becoming more popular as time goes on as well. Maybe even become a franchise on its own. Without spoiling anything, I will also like to add that she is an amazing singer.
Overall M3gan really sets the bar for movies in 2023. It started the year off in such a great way. I cannot wait to see if they decide to make a sequel. A movie that really deserves more stories to be told within this universe. It sets up the universe perfectly and has so much more to offer. The movie is near perfect and all of the performances were well done. Some minor characters hold the movie back a bit and the opening scene was meh, but other than that, the movie rules. Director, Gerard Johnstone, has proven to be excellent in making horror comedy work. I hope to see this director to be onboard with whatever happens next to this soon to be franchise. This is also the movie where Atomic Monster and Blumhouse has joined together. Having Jason Blum and James Wan work together, is a match made in heaven. These two own the horror genre and I can’t wait to see what their studios will produce together next. Horror fans will absolutely love this one. This will stand the test of time. This is also the perfect entry horror film for those who aren't to comfortable with the genre. You all need to check this movie out if you haven’t yet!
Total Score: 88/100
Written By: Frederick Nuti