M3GAN
Directed by Gerard Johnstone
★★★
Byline Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
Caption (from left) Gemma (Allison Williams), M3GAN and Cady (Violet McGraw) in M3GAN, directed by Gerard Johnstone.
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The expectations of the audience play an important role in how a film is perceived. Film-makers have understood this for a very long time, and it is something that is utilized within a movie in the form of misdirects, plot twists, tonal shifts, combining genres, etc. The expectations outside of the film are an important aspect of consideration as well: the marketing of a film, if it is a part of a successful or unsuccessful series, any kind of politics outside of the film, and what tropes other films of the same genre follow are all things to be considered when making a movie, as these things have a very real effect on the movie will be received.
M3GAN is a touching and enjoyable story but fails to deliver on expectations set by the genre. In M3GAN, the engineer at a toy company, Gemma (Allison Williams), becomes the caretaker of her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw) after a car crash ends up killing Cady’s parents. After a few brief interactions and a court-mandated therapist evaluation, it becomes quickly evident that Gemma wasn’t close with her sister or Cady, and doesn’t know how to reconcile with Cady in this dark period of her life. Once Gemma realizes that Cady has a fascination with toys, she gets the idea of using this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: finishing up her dream project M3GAN and giving the robotic doll to Cady to make her happy. The majority of the film then focuses on Cady, Gemma, and M3GAN’s relationships with one another, and as time goes on Gemma becomes more and more surprised by M3GAN’s behavior.
M3GAN seemed like it would be a Chucky-inspired addition to the slasher/horror genre but actually ended up being more focused on the dynamic between the three main characters. The film does well in delivering its message, a message that explores the negative consequences of parents using technology as a pacifier for children’s tantrums and overall negative emotions. At the end of the film, the characters have realized that it is important to feel negative emotions just as much as positive ones and that the curated and overly-positive experience of technology can’t and shouldn’t replace genuine connections in life.
However, this film doesn’t seem to have enough of M3GAN being creepy or going on a murderous rampage to feel like a slasher/horror. The movie is certainly campy and does include some tense moments and kills, but they are in such a small amount relative to the whole film that the experience ends up feeling more like a goofy family drama. While M3GAN does deliver on being a well-made film, it isn’t the type of film people expected it to be. The effect of subverting expectations is a flip-of-the-coin, but here it is to the movie’s detriment.