“M3gan” Review: No Matter Where I go, She Goes
A cutting-edge robot doll transforms into the girl’s favorite friend and even more dangerously in this outrageous horror film.
Allison Williams has a knack to play it straight. She is able to bring a convincing sense of real-world realism to even the most absurd scenarios, or perhaps she’s an actor who has a narrow range. However, she does it particularly well in the tense genre of horror and comedy. She was a star in her critical part in “Get Out,” and is now as “M3gan,” a ludicrous and awe-inspiring killer doll film.
Williams is Gemma who is a robotics engineer without maternal instincts who is suddenly required to care for her infant niece Cady (Violet McGraw) after a tragic accident in the car made her an orphan. The artificial skin in this film tells the story of the process by which Gemma learns to care for an infant. However, its bloody heart is a lot more humorous. It’s the humor of a perfectly composed robot that transforms into The Terminator.
This is the type of film that is scary and requires an actor who is robust and not fragile, and deadpan not flashy. Williams can effortlessly update the mad scientist archetype, refusing to stop and ask questions. He also invents an imaginary doll that is paired with a child and adapts to the child’s needs, acting as a best Big Sister and friend. Gemma makes use of Cady as a test case.
In a film with more excitement, there could be some mistakes. However, M3gan (performed by Amie Donald) is definitely evil right from the beginning. She’s a formidable heavy: chic and archly funny, but also extremely attentive. The violence she displays is never graphic enough to warrant the rating of PG-13. In the early months of January, when holiday-themed films of the highest quality tend to give way to more violent delights, a great movie with a sense of humor is often enough. The film is both and more. It compensates for the slow start with an absurd dialog (“You did not code your parental control system?”) and a traditional end.
The trailer drew some comparisons to “Child’s Play,”” the slasher film that featured the doll Chucky in the film, it had an unsavory, more grim undercurrent prior to the sequels and reboots going to the extreme. “M3gan” is a film that has an edgier touch. It’s a scene in which an officer from the police force who is looking into an incident involving the missing dog lets out a laugh, and then apologizes, saying “I should not be laughing.”
I’d have liked to see some more guffaws that make me feel guilty, but there are some, for instance, one in which M3gan treats as a real bully doll, using disposable parts. The tone of the film is just enough fun to keep the audience laughing. Director Gerard Johnstone doesn’t go for extravagant suspense scenes or terrifying terrors. He’s looking to please, not disturb. There are clues to social commentary about the way modern fathers and mothers make use of technology to delegate parenting duties however, the film is smart enough to not get too serious.
The show is aided by comic Ronny Chieng, who plays Gemma’s boss. She’s a frustrated toy maker who in rare moments of peace, gets into a rant with Hasbro. Anyone who is a horror buff recognizes that his jerkiness can be regarded as a warning of imminent doom as a group of coeds having sex in an outdoor camp. If the moment comes it doesn’t disappoint. M3gan is a strut, cartwheels dances, and does not make any sense. What a cutie.
Image (social media)
