The 3RA of ‘M3GAN’ is here
One part commentary and a much larger part camp horror, M3GAN is above all a great time at the movies
Need a horror movie scare you to be enjoyable? For my money, absolutely not — I’d argue the work of Sam Raimi in Evil Dead 2 alone answers that question enough. Yet I rhetorically ask this question because M3GAN, the latest film from screenwriter Akela Cooper (Malignant), is a piece of horror that did not provoke any kind of fear in me. Instead, it left me with a delightfully wide smile on my face for its entire duration; exactly the reaction I wanted.
I also firmly believe that’s the reaction wants you to have. Malignant was one of the cheekiest horror movies in recent memory, committing wholeheartedly to bloody mayhem with a knowing wink. Though M3GAN is missing that intense violence, it keeps the wink as it executes its premise with delightful camp and knowing silliness. It may not reach the heights of Cooper’s previous script, but M3GAN is still great fun throughout.
Genius toy roboticist Gemma (Alison Williams) is shocked by the news that her sister was in a snowy car crash that took her and her husband’s life, leaving only their daughter Cady (Violet McGraw). Seeing that Cady is unable to bear the grief, she speeds up production of a secret project she’s working on; the Model 3 Generative Android, or M3GAN for short. As a test run, Gemma pairs Cady with the M3GAN robot and is able to sell the idea of the toy to her company — but predictably, M3GAN doesn’t quite play by the rules…
M3GAN is anchored in its warped reality by a core group of solid performances. Alison Williams plays her character completely straight, a decision that slowly becomes a source for comedy as director Gerard Johnstone takes the audience for a spin. Violet McGraw is also rather good as Cady, making an exception to the general child-actors-in-horror-movies rule with a surprising range of emotion and depth of performance.
But of course, the star of the show is the title character. Brought to life by Jenna Davis’ voice and Amie Donald’s physical performance, M3GAN is an absurdly entertaining horror antagonist. Both actresses bringing her to life sell the hilarity intrinsic to the premise, with Davis in particular being required to sing, snarl and sass it up in a wonderfully entertaining manner. Amie Donald also does insane work here — only 11 years old at the time of filming, she drew on her background in gymnastics to do all her own stunts. She even helped choreograph the dance that’s gone somewhat viral.
However, I definitely can’t help but feel that M3GAN’s desire to be a PG-13 horror movie does hold it back in some ways. It’s got a surprising amount to say about the continued role of technology in our lives as M3GAN begins to take over Allison’s role as Cady’s adoptive parent, all the while managing to be lots of fun. But I can’t help but imagine that a little bit of James Wan’s Malignant directorial approach could’ve solidified this as an immediate cult-classic contender. The most “gruesome” parts of the film, while fun, are pretty inoffensive by all standards, and I think cutting a bit looser on that aspect could’ve brought M3GAN up another notch again.
Nonetheless, M3GAN is a good time throughout. It has a truly delightful ability to know exactly when and where to bump up the absurdity level as to keep us entertained; there’s a real sense of glee that permeates the film I found highly inviting. Johnstone, Cooper and everyone involved seem to have a tangible interest in keeping you entertained, and I certainly found it extremely difficult not to be. And with a sequel already in development, we confirm what we already know: we are in the 3RA of M3GAN…
7/10
