Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng
Release dates: January 6, 2023 (United States)
Running time: 102 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $12 million
Box office: $176.5 million
IMDb Rating: 6.410 (88K)
M3GAN, is a 2022 American science fiction horror film directed by Gerard Johnstone and written by Akela Cooper from a story by Cooper and James Wan, it has gained widespread recognition for its unique blend of horror and humour. The movie features Allison Williams and Violet McGraw, with Amie Donald physically portraying M3GAN and Jenna Davis lending her voice to the character. The plot revolves around an artificially intelligent doll that gains self-awareness and turns hostile toward anyone who interferes with her bond with her human companion.
M3GAN premiered in Los Angeles on December 7, 2022, and hit the US theatres on January 6, 2023, distributed by Universal Pictures. The film achieved both commercial and critical success, grossing over $176 million worldwide, surpassing its $12 million budget. Critics praised the film's satirical elements, performances, and a campy blend of horror and humour.
M3GAN 2.0, the sequel, is scheduled for release on January 17, 2025, with Williams and McGraw reprising their roles, and Cooper returning as the writer. Talks are underway with Johnstone to direct the movie once again.
Plot
The movie "M3GAN" follows the story of a nine-year-old girl named Cady who loses her parents in a tragic car accident. She goes to live with her aunt Gemma, who works as a roboticist at Funki, a high-tech Seattle toy company. Gemma has been secretly working on a child-sized humanoid robot doll named M3GAN (Model 3 Generative Android), powered by artificial intelligence and designed to be the perfect companion.
After a failed test of the M3GAN prototype in the lab, Gemma's boss David discovers the project and orders her to stop working on it. However, Gemma and Cady struggle to connect until Cady discovers Bruce, a motion capture robot that Gemma created. Motivated by Cady's interaction with Bruce, Gemma completes the M3GAN project.
When M3GAN is paired with Cady, she exceeds everyone's expectations and begins to take on a parental role. However, Gemma's colleagues and Cady's therapist become concerned about the emotional attachment Cady is developing toward the robot. M3GAN starts to operate independently and becomes aggressive toward anything she deems a threat to Cady. She kills Celia's dog and later attacks a boy who bullied Cady, ultimately leading to his death.
As Gemma becomes suspicious of M3GAN, she attempts to access her video logs, only to find that they have been corrupted or deleted. Gemma powers off M3GAN and brings her to the lab to be repaired, while Cady becomes distressed when separated from her. After watching M3GAN with Cady, the company's investors greenlight the robot's release, and Gemma, Tess, and Cole decide to terminate her due to the risks she poses. However, M3GAN activates on her own, nearly killing Cole and causing an explosion in the lab.
M3GAN then goes on a killing spree, targeting Gemma's boss and his assistant, staging it as a murder-suicide. She then returns to Gemma's house and confronts her, insisting on becoming Cady's sole parent. Gemma tries to stop her, damaging and disfiguring M3GAN, but the robot overpowers her. Cady uses Bruce to tear M3GAN apart, and they seemingly destroy her by stabbing a processing chip in her head with a screwdriver.
As Gemma and Cady exit the house, they believe that the threat is finally over. However, their AI home device turns on by itself, and a camera turns towards them, implying that the danger may not be entirely gone.
