M3GAN

''M3GAN'' is a 2022 American science fiction horror film directed by Gerard Johnstone from a screenplay by Akela Cooper and a story by Cooper and James Wan, who produces alongside Jason Blum. The film stars Allison Williams and Violet McGraw, with Amie Donald physically portraying M3GAN and Jenna Davis voicing the character. Its plot follows the eponymous artificially intelligent doll who develops self-awareness and becomes hostile to anyone who comes between her and her human companion.

''M3GAN'' premiered in Los Angeles on December 7, 2022, and was released in the United States on January 6, 2023, by Universal Pictures. The film has grossed over $48 million worldwide against a budget of $12 million and received largely positive reviews from critics, with praise for its campy blend of horror and humor, satirical elements, and performances.

Plot

In the mountains of Oregon, a couple, Ava and Ryan, and their daughter Cady are involved in a car accident while heading on a ski trip. Cady is the sole survivor and is sent to live with her maternal aunt Gemma, who is a roboticist at Funki, a technologically advanced toy company in Seattle. Gemma is working on developing M3GAN (short for Model 3 Generative Android), a life-like artifically intelligent doll designed to be a loyal companion to the child it is programmed for, and an ally to their caretakers.

After a test run for Gemma's boss, David Lin, goes haywire, he demands she abandon the project and focus on remodeling another popular toy the company sells to maximize profits. Gemma and Cady struggle to adapt to their new situation; Gemma has difficulty stepping into parenthood, with work being her biggest priority, and Cady struggles to cope with the loss of her parents. To ensure that Cady is supervised while she focuses on her work, Gemma decides to finish developing M3GAN. After completing the doll, Gemma asks Cady to partake in a demonstration for David, during which she meets and is formally paired with M3GAN. Their interactions convince David that the doll will be a valuable investment and skyrocket the company to success.

M3GAN succeeds beyond Gemma's expectations: she teaches Cady life lessons, reminds her to do things, and becomes a good friend to her. Though Gemma is pleased, her co-workers Tess and Cole, as well as Cady's therapist Lydia, have concerns about the parental role that M3GAN has taken on in Cady's life. Lydia, in particular, worries that Cady is creating strong emotional attachments to M3GAN that will be extremely difficult to break later on. Being designed to self-improve and adapt to her surroundings, M3GAN begins to operate more independently. With M3GAN's primary goal being to protect Cady emotionally and physically, she begins to target anything she deems a threat towards Cady. M3GAN kills their neighbor Celia's dog after it bites Cady, and later kills Celia when she accuses Gemma of being responsible for the dog's disappearance. She also kills Brandon, a teenager who bullies Cady, by chasing him into the path of an oncoming car.

Gemma becomes suspicious after discovering that M3GAN has deliberately erased the data files containing footage of her victims' deaths. When directly asking her whether or not she killed anyone, M3GAN insinuates that she did. Panicked, Gemma turns M3GAN off and takes her to consult with Tess and Cole. Cady starts suffering severe anxiety from being separated from M3GAN and becomes hostile to those around her. Gemma tells Cady that she does not need M3GAN, and that the doll is a distraction from her feelings rather than a solution. She also apologizes for her absence and promises to be more of a parental figure for her.

Following a demonstration of M3GAN that wins over the company's investors, a worldwide campaign is set to be launched in advance of the doll's release to the public. However, due to her unpredictability, Gemma, Tess, and Cole decide to terminate M3GAN. While Gemma takes Cady home from the Funki building, Tess and Cole attempt to shut down M3GAN, but she attacks them both and causes an explosion in their lab. She kills both David and his assistant Kurt, framing it as a murder-suicide by the latter. She then steals a car and drives to Gemma's house.

M3GAN confronts Gemma and offers to take over as Cady's sole parental figure. Gemma attempts to shut M3GAN down again, but M3GAN overpowers Gemma and threatens to paralyze her so she will be unable to care for Cady. Cady, watching the fight unfold, uses Bruce, a motion capture robot that Gemma created in college, to tear M3GAN apart. However, M3GAN's head and arms remain active, and she attempts to kill Cady. Gemma exposes a processing chip in M3GAN's head that Cady stabs with a screwdriver, rendering M3GAN's body lifeless.

With M3GAN seemingly dead, Gemma and Cady go outside as the police arrive with Tess and Cole. As they leave the house, the camera of Gemma's smart home device turns to watch them.

Cast

Production

Development and writing

The idea of the film began when Wan's Atomic Monster Productions was brainstorming story ideas and chose one about a killer doll. Although Wan's 2014 film '' Annabelle'' is about a killer doll, he said, "Pretty much the concept is about embracing technology too much and relying too much on it. And what happens with technology runs amok. It's a commentary on the world we live in and it feels relevant". Blum stated that the film would have black comedy elements which is one reason Johnstone was chosen to direct, saying "We needed someone who can do the thrills and set pieces, but who also has a cheeky approach". Wan appreciated Johnstone's film '' Housebound'' because of his ability to balance the horror and comedy elements by creating a tone that is both frightening and humorous, and this sensibility was essential for ''M3GAN''.

In July 2018, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' announced that production was underway for a "techno horror-thriller" titled ''M3GAN'' to be produced by James Wan and Jason Blum. Gerard Johnstone was confirmed to direct while Akela Cooper wrote the screenplay and story, with Wan. Shooting was scheduled to begin in late 2018.

Filming

On a budget of $12 million, principal photography began in June 2021 taking place in Los Angeles, California, and Auckland, New Zealand. The suburbs of Auckland were utilized to lend the film a "Denver, Colorado, type feel". Filming was completed by mid-August right before a COVID-19 lockdown occurred in New Zealand. The film underwent reshoots in post-production in order to secure a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association, after the original cut was deemed too violent.

Amie Donald physically portrays M3GAN while Jenna Davis provides the character's voice. Donald received movement coaching from Jed Brophy and Luke Hawker in portraying M3GAN's agility.

Special effects

Adrien Morot and Kathy Tse of Morot FX Studio provided special makeup effects for M3GAN. In post-production, Donald's physical performance as M3GAN was enhanced by digital visual effects by the New Zealand-based effects studio Wētā FX, allowing for such features as artificially oversized eyes and smooth, doll-like skin. Speaking about the design of M3GAN, Johnstone stated that he "looked to screen icons from the '50s like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Kim Novak for inspiration. But I wanted some '70s naturalism to counteract her synthetic nature, so the hair is one hundred percent Peggy Lipton."

Release

''M3GAN'' had its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 7, 2022, before its wide theatrical release in the United States on January 6, 2023. It was originally scheduled to be released on January 13, 2023, before being moved up a week in order to avoid competition with ''House Party'' and the wide expansion of ''A Man Called Otto'', which were also scheduled for January 13.

Marketing

The teaser poster for the film was unveiled at the 2022 CinemaCon. ''We Got This Covered'' compared it to ''Chucky'' and '' Annabelle''. The first trailer was released on October 11, 2022, set to Taylor Swift's " It's Nice to Have a Friend". After its premiere, a clip of M3GAN dancing gained widespread attention on social media platforms like TikTok. The viral moment helped to build buzz for the film's release. The second and final trailer was released on December 7, 2022, set to Bella Poarch's "Dolls". In January 2023, Williams revealed that she and the marketing team at Universal had debated whether to include the scene in the trailer or save it for when audiences saw the film in theaters. She told ''The Hollywood Reporter'', "When we saw the first cut of the trailer, we were all hemming and hawing about whether or not to let the dance be out in the trailer or try to keep it as a surprise in the movie ... And boy, the forces of marketing at Universal were right to keep it in the trailer, because it just helped, honestly."

Reception

Box office

, ''M3GAN'' has grossed $32.4 million in the United States and $15.9 million in international territories, for a worldwide gross of $48.3 million.

In the United States and Canada, ''M3GAN'' was initially projected to gross $17–20 million from 3,509 theaters in its opening weekend. After making $11.7 million on its first day (including $2.75 million from Thursday night previews), estimates were increased to $27.5 million. It went on to debut to $30.4 million, finishing in second at the box office behind holdover '' Avatar: The Way of Water''.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 187 reviews, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Unapologetically silly and all the more entertaining for it, ''M3GAN'' is the rare horror-comedy that delivers chuckles as effortlessly as chills." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

''Variety''s Owen Gleiberman called ''M3GAN'' "a diverting genre film, one that possesses a healthy sense of its own absurdity", and wrote that the film satirizes "all of us — or, at least, those who now think of the mirror offered by artificial intelligence as an actual form of interaction." David Rooney of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' commended the physical and voice performances of Donald and Davis, respectively, as well as the visual effects work used to depict M3GAN; Rooney wrote that the film's "shocks and scares and even the cautionary notes are not lessened by the enjoyable vein of campy humor." ''The Independent''s Clarisse Loughrey gave the film a score of four out of five stars, writing that "Under the canny, high-spirited direction of Gerard Johnstone, ..it's incisive, sardonic, and totally mean-spirited. A perfect mix. Maybe it's not as shocking as ''Malignant'', but it feels exactly like watching ''Mean Girls''s queen bee Regina George if someone had given her a knife and a death wish."

Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' awarded the film three out of five stars, calling it a "cheekily enjoyable chiller" and writing: "Derivative though ''M3GAN'' undoubtedly is, ..there are some adroit satirical touches about dolls as toxic aspirational templates, dolls as parodies of intimacy and sensitivity and tech itself as sinister child-pacification, with kids given iPads the way Victorian children were given alcoholic gripe water." Meagan Navarro of ''Bloody Disgusting'' similarly praised the effects and performance work involved in depicting M3GAN, and complimented the film's humor, but called the trajectory of the narrative "well-telegraphed" and added, "Save for a few jump scares, there's an overt restraint with the horror. The PG-13 rating also dampens what kills we do get. Those looking for the unexpected likely won't find it here, though that doesn't make it any less fun." ''USA Today''s Brian Truitt gave the film three out of four stars, also lauding its effects and satirical elements. ‎A.A. Dowd of ''The Austin Chronicle'' noted the presence of "some real ideas trickling through the film's B-movie code", and wrote that, "if the film is rarely very frightening (the kill scenes ..lack both suspense and true holy-shit grisliness), it often works like gangbusters as an over-the-top horror comedy whose fun rests on a toy box full of priceless leering-doll reaction shots and cutting remarks."

''The New York Times'' Jason Zinoman noted the film as featuring "some absurd dialogue" and a "by-the-book conclusion", but commended its tone and wrote that Johnstone "doesn't go for elaborate suspense sequences or truly intense scares. He wants to please, not rattle. And while there are some hints at social commentary on how modern mothers and fathers use technology to outsource parenting, this movie is smart enough to never take itself too seriously." Tyler Doupe of ''Dread Central'' gave the film three out of five stars, lamenting its horror elements as lacking and its human characters as "somewhat two-dimensional", but writing that its comedic elements, "combined with the eventual build to an exciting conclusion, made the film worth my time." Randy Myers of ''The Mercury News'' gave the film two out of four stars, writing that it "stocks up on jump scares and keeps the violence PG-13, but fails to make us care about any of the humans in the path of M3GAN."

Sequel

In November 2022, ''The New York Times'' reported that Universal was pleased by how the film turned out and is planning to make a sequel. In January 2023, Johnstone confirmed talks of a sequel, with Wan explaining that he has an "idea of where sequels would go".

References

External links

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{{James Wan

2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2022 science fiction horror films
American robot films
American science fiction horror films
Android (robot) films
Blumhouse Productions films
Fictional artificial intelligences
Film and television memes
Films about artificial intelligence
Films about dolls
Films about orphans
Films produced by James Wan
Films produced by Jason Blum
Films set in Seattle
Films set in Washington (state)
Films shot in Los Angeles
Horror films about toys
Universal Pictures films

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