TWO: M3GAN
Bibliographic Information
2022
Rated PG-13
Directed by Gerard Johnstone
Story by Akeelah Cooper and James Wan
Horror DVD (also available to stream).
Producers: Blumhouse productions; Atomic Monsters Productions; Divide/Conquer
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Plot Summary
Gemma is on the verge of creating a truly incredible AI doll to market as a toy when her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident, leaving her taking care of her grieving niece, Cady. Feeling emotionally unable to help the girl, Gemma fast-forwards production of her M3GAN product to comfort Cady. Soon, the doll evolves to act on its own, and is anything but comforting.
Cast/Director
Horror fans will recognize Allison Williams from 2017's Get Out and writer Akeelah Cooper's unique 2017 film Malignant. Writer James Wan is basically a horror household name at this point, having directed Saw in 2004, then Insidious (2010) and The Conjuring (2013), among others. His work is atmospheric but provides enough jump-scares to get the adrenalin flowing. The performances are solid and the director, Gerard Johnstone, manages to give the movie a sense of humor without making it too campy.
Critical Evaluation
M3GAN is a fast-paced AI thriller that explores the risks of technology, the depths of grief, and the potential devastation that can come from mixing the two. It is simultaneously funny (the commercial spoofs are perfect and have a Robocop or Grand Theft Auto feel to them) and unnerving and provides mindless fun or a more in-depth cautionary tale, depending on what the viewer's looking for. For viewers who just want a couple of hours of entertainment it works as the action is over the top, and you can walk away from it relatively unbothered thanks to the film's foreshadowing of who will die due to perceived character flaws. (Very 90s.)
It can be watched a different way, though, and to me, M3GAN felt like a true throwback to the cautionary sci-fi/horror of the 50's or 60s. It has the detached scientist, a woman so driven by her work she is devoid of emotion (can she please comfort her grieving niece just a little!?), a boss and his assistant who are blind to anything but money and approval, and a suitably mixed message: some AI is ok, but not too much AI or people will die.
The movies of the mid-twentieth century focused often on nuclear activity (Godzilla) and irreverent experimentation that crossed the line from scientist to god (The Fly), and they spoke to the fears of the masses. We were uncertain about these things and the movies helped express, hyperbolically, what our concerns were. We see the same thing in M3GAN; we are experiencing a time of rapid AI development and are being bombarded with dueling messages of how extraordinary it is, but also, we'll all be out of jobs and it just may be the end of our species. The movie is over the top, but the nuggets of our worry are all in there and they are valid. This fear isn't new, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, and Alien raised the concerns of AI decades ago, but the technology seemed so futuristic, so far off that it was easy to just enjoy the bad robots. It's a different feeling now that we have robotic vacuums, Siri. Alexa, Smart appliances and other forms of technology ever-present in our lives.
Speed-Round
After losing her parents in a car crash, Cady is sent to live with her toy designing aunt, Gemma. Gemma is ill-equipped to deal with Cady's grief and rushes to finish an AI doll prototype named M3GAN. Cady and M3GAN are inseparable but it becomes real clear, real fast that the rest of the world is not ready for M3GAN.
Library Program
Double feature showing of Them! (1954) and M3GAN with discussion comparing the two and their respective concerns for humanity.
Wikipedia. (2023, June 20). M3GAN. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3GAN
Wikipedia. (2023, June 17). Them! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them!
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