Meg’s Movie Corner: M3GAN

SPOILERS AHEAD!

As a Megan myself, people have been wondering what I think of the new sci-fi horror film M3GAN. It’s funny – I’ve been seeing her name so much lately that writing my own name without the number three as the “e” feels wrong, like it’s misspelled or something. So, trust me, I’ve heard of M3GAN, and boy do I have some things to say.

A young girl, Cady (Violet McGraw), and her parents get into a tragic car accident, leaving her parents dead. This is a particularly traumatic event in anyone’s life, and at the 10-year-old range that Cady is, it’s especially difficult to process. Quickly, Cady moves in with her Aunt Gemma (Allison Williams). Their new living situation is difficult to adjust to due to Gemma’s workaholic lifestyle, as she didn’t anticipate needing to bond with a traumatized child. Gemma works for Funki, a high-tech company in Seattle that makes animatronic toys for children, and her current project is M3GAN (Model 3 Generative Android), a life-size humanoid robot that uses artificial intelligence to self-improve and learn to be an optimal companion for children as well as a helpful caretaker to assist parents. Cady mentions how she’d love a toy like that, and Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype to Cady and allow them to form a friendship, hoping that it will help Cady through this difficult time in her life. Quickly, other adults become concerned about how strong of an emotional attachment Cady has to her doll, and whenever Cady is away from M3GAN she becomes extremely agitated and lashes out. M3GAN, being a self-learning AI, begins to take the command “protect Cady” to a new level, prepared to eliminate anyone and everyone that gets in her way – even her creator, Gemma.

Recently on Roommate Reviews, Jesse, Courtland, and I discussed the new Atomic Monster Productions film. Released in theatres on January 6^th, and all over TikTok and social media since, M3GAN truly is everywhere.

I said it on the show, and I’ll say it again – M3GAN is truly a modern-day Chucky or Annabelle story: a doll that’s seemingly innocent and harmless winds up going on a murderous rampage by the end of the film. However, MEGAN takes a specific interest in the technology aspect of the doll and warns audiences of the dangers that come with reliance on technological advances. It’s like if Annabelle and Black Mirror had a crossover feature.

As someone who grew up seeing commercials and owning toys that focused on faux-consciousness, like Furr-Real Friends, I thoroughly enjoyed the parody elements of this movie. A main point of discussion surrounding this film is how funny it is—people seem to think that a movie doesn’t have the capacity to be funny and scary at the same time, but M3GAN is a perfect example of a film that can do both. Jokes sprinkled throughout the story provide the sense that the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that audiences shouldn’t either – they should just enjoy and be entertained.