Megan (2023) review

31. Megan (2023)

Directed by: Gerald Johnstone

Produced by: Jason Blum, James Wan

Screenplay by: Akela Cooper

Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Jenna Davis, Amie Donald

I remember seeing trailers for the movie “Megan”—or “M3GAN,” depending on how you look at it—and thinking to myself, “Is this a comedy?” And I didn’t think this from the typically misleading upbeat tone horror trailers usually start with; I’m talking about the actual horror scenes depicted. They looked silly, campy, and awkward; my concern was if this was intentional. Released back in January, it’s about an artificially intelligent doll named M3GAN (Amie Donald) created by roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) as a human companion for her eight-year-old niece Cady (Violet McGraw) that becomes self-aware and eventually murderous. It’s a standard setup and fairly predictable, but also intelligent and, yes, it deliberately balances the shifting tones.

The opening scene shows Cady losing her parents in a car accident; she’s sent to live with her aunt Gemma, who works for the high-tech Seattle toy company Funki. Unfortunately, Gemma is wrapped up in her work and doesn’t know about parenting, so she struggles to make a warm, loving environment for them. But when they bond over a motion capture robot she created, Gemma is inspired to finish building her passion project, a Model 3 Generative Android, or M3GAN, a child-sized humanoid robot doll powered by artificial intelligence. The prototype is formally paired with Cady, as the two become closely attached; Gemma and her Funki boss David (Ronny Chieng) make plans to expand on the project’s potential. However, Cady starts becoming unhealthily dependent on M3GAN, while as M3GAN becomes more freethinking, she begins targeting anything she deems a threat, such as neighbor Celia (Lori Dungey) and her dog Dewey, a bully named Brandon (Jack Cassidy), and over time, Gemma herself.

After seeing “Get Out,” I knew I wanted to see more of Allison Williams, and she does a great job here as Gemma; much like Jessica Chastain in “Mama,” this is clearly a role she’s never envisioned playing, having to take care of a child, and she approaches it the same way she’s probably approached many problems in her life, scientifically. It’s indicative of a contemporary trend of parents who would let technology raise their kids, for better or worse. But while I like the fact that she gradually realizes that she’s effectively only given Cady a way to avoid dealing with her parents’ deaths, I don’t understand why we never see Gemma herself deal with it. It’s hinted that she wasn’t close with her sister, but in the blink of an eye, we go from her going to the hospital to signing adoption papers. Her scenes with Violet McGraw as Cady are well done, but I feel they should’ve received much more focus.

Okay, one quick caveat; the actual first scene is a commercial for a Funki toy called Purrpetual Pets, which basically shows a girl saying, “My dog got old and died, so I got this big-eyed fur toy that poops tiny pellets and comes with its own app.” That’s what clued me in that while the film does play it straight, it’s still exaggerated and not to be taken too seriously. That definitely comes across in the visual of M3GAN herself; played by a combination of animatronics but also with terrific style and physicality by Amie Donald, she manages to be both kind of creepy and kind of funny. This is a movie that wants to take advantage of the uncanny valley phenomenon, where she’s clearly meant to look real, but has these weird inflections and movements that are so unconventional, you know it’s meant to seem fake, but it still works in the world the filmmakers have created.

The sight of her singing, dancing, running on all fours through the woods, and playing the piano are all surreal, yet so memorable that they’ve made her another new horror icon, in the same way as Annabelle or Art the Clown. At the same time, the way the relationship unravels between M3GAN and Gemma adds another layer to the drama, paralleling abusive family dynamics. However, I think I would’ve liked it more if it went all out with how over-the-top M3GAN’s antics could be; there’s not much to the kill scenes unless you watch the unrated version. In fact, some of these storylines feel strangely incomplete, like the therapist Lydia (Amy Usherwood) just disappearing, or David’s assistant Kurt (Stephane Garneau-Monten) stealing company secrets. The vibe of this feels like something Sam Raimi could’ve directed; hell, Gemma’s robot is called Bruce, as in Campbell, as in “Evil Dead 2.” But they stuck it with a PG-13, so it just feels like a tame version of what it could’ve been.

In the end, however, “M3GAN” is still a really fun one; combining the consumerism, attachment theory, and technological dependence angles help make it very unique, especially compared to all the AI films that have come out over the years. It was a huge critical and financial hit, and a sequel called “M3GAN 2.0” is in the works for 2025, with Williams, McGraw, director Gerald Johnstone, and writer Akela Cooper all set to return. There’s even speculation that the character could cross over with Chucky, as they’re both Universal properties, but I don’t want to get my hopes up yet, although it’s interesting that the first “Child’s Play” movie also started as an answer to the endless doll commercials on TV at the time. Anyway, if this looks at all amusing, it might be the campy thriller for you.

My rating: 8/10