M3GAN
Universal PicturesHistorically known as the dumping ground for movies, January has had a rather bad reputation regarding releasing new blockbusters in theaters. When the trailer for Blumhouse’s M3GAN was released, it certainly looked enticing enough even if the January 6th date did not instill promise despite Malignant writer Akela Cooper penning the script and co-writing the story with James Wan. While the marketing campaign for this film has been the most creative in years, (even having the promo screen at press screenings directly talking to journalists who were waiting for the movie to start), the January date stuck out like a sore thumb.
However, M3GAN is a blast from start to finish, but that may depend on the audience’s appreciation for camp horror. Its PG-13 rating hinders most of the violence, but the film’s ironic tone throughout nonetheless makes it a compelling watch. It also tackles themes the audience has seen: a lonely kid, Cady (Violet McGraw), longing for a friend in her life, after losing both of her parents tragically. Her aunt, Gemma (Allison Williams), can’t seem to help her because she’s too focused on her work, and creates an android by the name of M3GAN (Amie Donald/Jenna Davis) instead to give her the emotional support she needs.
Of course, as M3GAN grows with Cady, she also has a mind of her own and starts to kill people to protect Cady at all costs. Unfortunately, the kills are the weakest part of the movie. As mentioned above, the PG-13 rating always cuts away from the violence, and it would’ve been even more effective if audiences saw the whole thing. M3GAN is scary on her own, but she could’ve been a bigger, and more memorable, antagonist if she was able to kill à la Chucky. Who knows if there will be a sequel, but there’s some genuinely untapped potential the film doesn’t exploit with a PG-13 rating. It would’ve much benefited from gore and gratuitous violence as if M3GAN can’t be held back and is a legitimately demonic concoction from a genuinely brilliant mind.
M3GAN makes up for the lack of gore with sharply-written comedy. Some may be disappointed at the lack of scares M3GAN offers (admittedly, there are far too many jumpscares in this to make an impact), but the comedy is the film’s real star. Amie Donald’s physical performance as M3GAN is already an Oscar-worthy one with her mannerisms teetering toward the flexibility of a Buster Keaton burlesque performance and the sheer creepiness of a living, quasi-breathing AI creature. Jenna Davis provides a neutral vocal performance that brought out big laughs from the audience. Without spoiling anything, there are a few surprising things M3GAN says that will bring about a plethora of historic memes that future generations will use eternally. It’s not necessarily a horror film, but a full-fledged comedy that brings lots of laughs, even during tense moments of action.
Allison Williams is also excellent as Gemma, even if her character is riddled with clichés, which can be said the same for Violet McGraw’s portrayal of Cady, which recalled Alex Vincent’s performance of Andy Barclay in Child’s Play. McGraw has the same childlike innocence as Vincent, as she plays with M3GAN throughout the film, even if Cady’s past is much darker than Andy’s. There are many similarities one can draw from M3GAN to Child’s Play, but Gerard Johnstone’s film is more akin to Bride of Chucky, arguably the funniest film in the Child’s Play franchise, rather than Tom Holland’s darker, and grittier, 1988 film.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that M3GAN never gets dark, but those moments aren’t as strong as when M3GAN develops an ironic and self-aware tone, even though small bouts of physical comedy. And even if the movie would’ve benefited from an R-rating, M3GAN is still an incredible time at the movie theater, and will hopefully instill confidence in movie studios that January is no longer the dumping ground for movies, and that good cinema can be released year-round, even with Awards Season on the radar and Avatar: The Way of Water still dominating the box office. M3GAN is no Avatar, sure, but it’s still a great time. Here’s hoping the rest of the 2023 movie season will be just as bonkers, and audacious, as Blumhouse’s first film of the year.