Blumhouse and James Wan’s latest contribution to the creepy killer doll horror genre, the much-anticipatedM3GAN, recently dropped a featurette in anticipation of its release later this week.
Blumhouse’sM3GANfeatures an AI-facilitated companion designed for a lonely little girl. The film has been creating a buzz since the fall withits villainousM3GANdoll. The doll in question is brought home by roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams,Girls, Get Out) to help her niece Cady (Violet McGraw,Haunting of Hill House) cope after the loss of her parents. While the doll seems chipper, friendly, and a marvel of modern AI engineering, things quickly escalate as the doll proves to be much less machine than a monster.
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The newM3GANfeaturette includes insights from the cast, crew, and director. The video includesscenes of M3GAN’s shiftfrom Cady’s bestie to a killing machine set to snappy music and rapid-fire editing chiding her charms and benefits that quickly devolve into a warning for audiences who will, according to the commentary, go home afterward and promptly “unplug all [their] devices." The video was released byBloody Disgusting.
Directed by award-winning filmmakerGerard Johnstone,M3GANwas written byThe Nun 2scribe Akela Cooper. The script was based on an original story by Cooper and Wan. The film also stars RonnyChieng (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Brian Jordan Alvarez (Will & Grace),Jen Van Epps (Cowboy Bebop),Lori Dungey(The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), and Stephane Garneau-Monten (Straight Forward).
While creepy children’s dolls and AI mutinies are standard fare for horror and sci-fi,M3GANlooks to be an intriguing combination of both genres of fright, with a particularly unstoppable villain full of one-liners and savvy dance moves. M3GAN’s trip down the uncanny valley and the genuine mannerisms of an adolescent girl augment the horrific nature of what audiences know to expect in this film, which promises to be both bloody and violent once it gets rolling.
M3GAN follows in thetradition of classic horrors likeChild’s Play, featuring cute-as-a-button dolls harboring murderous desires, and AI-centered shows likeWestworld, where man’s attempts to harness artificial intelligence often go wrong. With the rising trend of automated intelligence devices infiltrating modern life now more than ever in the form of home assistants, self-driving cars, and drone technology, questions and ethical implications of AI are already an interesting discussion, particularly when it comes to the endless possibilities and potential misuse (or revolt) of such technologies.
