‘M3GAN’ Review: Blumhouse Killer Doll Movie Puts Fun Twist On Well-Worn Horror Genre

Pete Hammond
·4 min read
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Hoping to take the sub-horror killer doll genre to new heights, producers James Wan and Jason Blum have teamed on what they hope to be a modern technology-infused combo somewhere along the lines of Annabelle meets The Terminator. Short of literally doing that, they have cooked up the latest Blumhouse fright picture, M3GAN, which for the most part follows a formula but shakes it up just enough to have strong appeal — especially for the teen-girl audience that gravitates to these PG13-safe kind of movies.

Although it is all entirely predictable, there is some fun entertainment to be had here as the creators including director Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) and writer Akela Cooper (Malignant, The Nun 2) working from a story she devised with Wan, have serviced the idea with some very funny ideas that even have the truly creepy title character dancing her way into murder, as well as singing lullabies that seem to come out of nowhere, all the better to give this less-than-original exercise some off-the-wall moments.

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Allison Williams stars as Gemma, whose brilliant robotic inventions for a high-end technology toy company are leading to a real breakthrough: a doll that not only can become a child’s bestie but is also a godsend to beleaguered parents willing to spend the big bucks. However, it is a development project that needs a lot more testing; company CEO David (Ronny Chieng) isn’t ready to let Gemma and her latest groundbreaking idea loose on the world just yet. Fate changes though when a tragic car accident leaves her 9-year-old niece Cady (Violet McGraw) orphaned, and now in the care of her guardian Aunt Gemma, who is wholly unprepared to take on the task but determined to do it for her late sister despite the misgivings of the social worker assigned to assess whether this is the proper environment for Cady.

‘M3GAN’
‘M3GAN’

After striking out with some playtime ideas, a light bulb goes off when Gemma realizes that the revolutionary talking-doll companion idea she has been working on could also be the answer to placating Cady with a friend assigned to take care of her, and that could keep her occupied instead of video games and watching TV. With the help of her associates Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jen Van Epps), she rushes along the robotic process, dresses up the now-named M3GAN (Model 3 Generative Android) and shows off the results in a demonstration where Cady is left alone with the doll. M3GAN’s actions and responses are almost lifelike, an experiment that proves to David and his financiers that the doll could be the greatest technological breakthrough since the automobile, but they need to rush it just in time for Christmas: a $10,000 toy that is pricey indeed but could become the latest member of the family, as well as a permanent companion who won’t die like a pet.

If you have seen anything like Wan’s Annabelle, or before that the Chucky series or their numerous evil-doll ripoffs, you know where this is heading. Instead of making it all supernatural though, this is about booming technological advances careening out of human control. The minute we see Gemma’s cranky next-door neighbor Celia (Lori Dungey) and her hyper dog enter the picture, we can pretty much guess somehow they will both soon cross paths with Cady’s new playmate, even if Gemma is clueless. Slowly, other bad things begin to happen, especially ramping up the suspicions when M3GAN gets loose from the “toy table” at an outing for kids that ends with the grisly death of a young bully. What is going on here? As the company begins its rollout of the doll, the body count mounts.

With a refreshing willingness to camp it up, the filmmakers take none of this too seriously and the conclusion is a satisfying one, though you can imagine the sequel possibilities instantly. At its heart, in addition to other cinematic inspirations in the horror genre, M3GAN is a descendant of the classic of them all, Frankenstein, as we see the inventor’s creation unleashed and out of their control. Fun stuff.

Universal unleashes the mayhem Friday in the first major studio release of 2023. It should get the New Year off to a promising start.

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