Earlier this year the internet was obsessed with M3GAN. It was a film I would liked to have seen in the cinema, but due to a hectic start of the year I missed out on a lot of films releasing at that time. Having finally released on NowTV, I jumped at the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about, and whilst I did find M3gan generally enjoyable, I don’t think it’s quite as good as everybody made it out to be.
Following the death of her sister and brother-in-law in a car crash, Gemma (Allison Williams) takes on the responsibility of guardianship for their daughter Cady (Violet McGraw). Unable to separate herself from her demanding job as a roboticist for a toy company, Gemma sees an opportunity to use her newly developed ‘model three generative android’, or M3GAN (Amie Donald & Jenna Davis) to pick up the slack with taking care of Cady.
However, when a series of fatal ‘accidents’ start occurring around Gemma, she begins to wonder if M3gan is responsible and has turned violent.
I have to say I really enjoyed the way that M3GAN toed the line between comedy and horror. It does it so well too, like it never leans too far into either direction and the result is this distinctly creepy film about a killer doll that has moments that are just so bizarre that they become funny. She is going to be a new horror movie icon as far as I’m concerned because of the excellent way the character is written, and the way she is brought to life by Davis and Donald. Davis handles the voice which borders between happy-go-lucky and downright demented. Donald meanwhile provides the physical performance which is absolutely phenomenal. It’s fair to assume that M3GAN is animatronic based on how she moves, but it’s actually a human with a mask on and Donald imbues the character with so much personality through her movement.
Following the death of her sister and brother-in-law in a car crash, Gemma (Allison Williams) takes on the responsibility of guardianship for their daughter Cady (Violet McGraw). Unable to separate herself from her demanding job as a roboticist for a toy company, Gemma sees an opportunity to use her newly developed ‘model three generative android’, or M3GAN (Amie Donald & Jenna Davis) to pick up the slack with taking care of Cady.
However, when a series of fatal ‘accidents’ start occurring around Gemma, she begins to wonder if M3gan is responsible and has turned violent.
I have to say I really enjoyed the way that M3GAN toed the line between comedy and horror. It does it so well too, like it never leans too far into either direction and the result is this distinctly creepy film about a killer doll that has moments that are just so bizarre that they become funny. She is going to be a new horror movie icon as far as I’m concerned because of the excellent way the character is written, and the way she is brought to life by Davis and Donald. Davis handles the voice which borders between happy-go-lucky and downright demented. Donald meanwhile provides the physical performance which is absolutely phenomenal. It’s fair to assume that M3GAN is animatronic based on how she moves, but it’s actually a human with a mask on and Donald imbues the character with so much personality through her movement.
I like how the film handled the idea of palming your kids off on technology to do the babysitting. It’s the equivalent of my mum sticking me in front of the cartoons as a child but just taken to a modern extreme. The way it tackles the addition and dependency children form with technology such as smartphones and social media is really clever without ever becoming preachy.
The way Gemma alters what M3GAN’s primary functions are so that she can get more work done, and doesn’t have to deal with the annoying aspects of bringing up a child backfires on her monumentally and it’s a great warning to current and prospective parents about making time for your children.
The film does have one huge problem though and that’s the corners that were cut in order to achieve a PG-13 rating in the States. In the UK M3gan received a BBFC 15 certificate for its theatrical version, which I would say is justified given the violence, threat, and generally sinister nature of the film. But in the U.S. the film received a PG-13 rating because it doesn’t have any bloody or gory moments, not because they were never there, but because they’ve been haphazardly cut out.
The theatrical version of M3GAN, which is what I saw, feels severely lacking without the bloody violence. It nails the tone, but then never delivers a payoff for that, and I find it strange that international markets that weren’t prepared to lower the age rating down from a mature one didn’t receive what became the extended cut of the film where these gorier moments were added back in. Both versions have the same age rating here in the UK and I’m sure it does in many other markets too, because the tone of the film is so overtly mature and sinister that I would only recommend it be seen by older teens and adults. To try and trim this into a version suitable for younger teens feels wrong, because the very nature of the story and the way that’s presented is mature anyway even without the gory violence.
I had a great time with this film, and I am looking forward to seeing whether M3GAN becomes the next big horror franchise, because it really has the potential to. The way M3GAN is brought to life by Davis & Donald is really superb, and it makes her such a captivating villain. I really do recommend checking M3GAN out, but it does come with the caveat of the film being less violent than it should have been (even the extended version could have gone harder). It’s a good thing that Universal’s interference to attain a lower MPAA rating didn’t ruin the film entirely, but it is a nasty mark against an otherwise excellent new horror property.
The way Gemma alters what M3GAN’s primary functions are so that she can get more work done, and doesn’t have to deal with the annoying aspects of bringing up a child backfires on her monumentally and it’s a great warning to current and prospective parents about making time for your children.
The film does have one huge problem though and that’s the corners that were cut in order to achieve a PG-13 rating in the States. In the UK M3gan received a BBFC 15 certificate for its theatrical version, which I would say is justified given the violence, threat, and generally sinister nature of the film. But in the U.S. the film received a PG-13 rating because it doesn’t have any bloody or gory moments, not because they were never there, but because they’ve been haphazardly cut out.
The theatrical version of M3GAN, which is what I saw, feels severely lacking without the bloody violence. It nails the tone, but then never delivers a payoff for that, and I find it strange that international markets that weren’t prepared to lower the age rating down from a mature one didn’t receive what became the extended cut of the film where these gorier moments were added back in. Both versions have the same age rating here in the UK and I’m sure it does in many other markets too, because the tone of the film is so overtly mature and sinister that I would only recommend it be seen by older teens and adults. To try and trim this into a version suitable for younger teens feels wrong, because the very nature of the story and the way that’s presented is mature anyway even without the gory violence.
I had a great time with this film, and I am looking forward to seeing whether M3GAN becomes the next big horror franchise, because it really has the potential to. The way M3GAN is brought to life by Davis & Donald is really superb, and it makes her such a captivating villain. I really do recommend checking M3GAN out, but it does come with the caveat of the film being less violent than it should have been (even the extended version could have gone harder). It’s a good thing that Universal’s interference to attain a lower MPAA rating didn’t ruin the film entirely, but it is a nasty mark against an otherwise excellent new horror property.