Film Review #56: M3GAN

Film Review #56: M3GAN

*This film review may contain plot spoilers, reader discretion is advised.*

When the 2021 film Malignant premiered in cinemas, doubts were raised about the future of the horror genre as time-worn jumpscares, excessive gore and gratuitous violence were prioritised over establishing an intricate plot that deftly weaved elements of terror into dark realities. Many film critics and horror flick aficionados found that the true terror and shock lay in how dismally the film was executed. Were horror veterans Jason Blum and James Wan genuinely looking to surprise viewers or were they intentionally creating a new genre of self-reflexive films that relied on mass-produced shlock, hackneyed tropes and comically bad storylines? Nevertheless, if you had a whale of a time watching Malignant, you would have an exhilarating time watching their new film, M3gan.

Hatched from the bizarre premise of a murderous android turned serial killer, the psychotic cyborg-doll genre is fully fleshed out in this feature film and it's surprisingly enjoyable for a modern coming-of-age rendition of Frankenstein’s monster. 

Film stills from M3gan

In the film, M3gan (also known as Model 3 Generative Android) is the newest Barbie that fictional company Funki is developing to combat their rival’s Furby-esque product, which has dominated the children’s toy market with its main feature of having glowing, glittering butts. As a result, Funki’s Roboticist Gemma is under immense pressure to make M3gan a viable product in the market. After Gemma’s niece, Cady, loses her parents in a freak accident, Cady is suddenly placed under her care which precipitates in the marvellous and ingenious idea of allowing her new cyborg creation to befriend her niece, and at the same time, help her niece process the grief and trauma of being orphaned at a young age.

Film stills from M3gan

Subsequently, M3gan begins to question her own existence, spiralling down the rabbit hole of identity and moral crisis. Unable to discern the nuances between enemy and ally, M3gan perceives threats with ferocious cruelty and unleashes a cute little rampage on anyone who hurts her primary user, Cady. 

Each scene delivers an abundance of cringe – not without self-reflexivity and a wry sense of humour. In the trailers, one can see M3gan performing a TikTok repertoire in the midst of her homicidal stint, aptly encapsulating the essence of M3gan and the ever-possible consequences of bad parenting and programming. At its core, the film is a campy and hilarious commentary on 21st-century parenting and their children's poignant isolation in the absence of a loving human touch.

Film stills from M3gan

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This review is published as an extension of *SCAPE’s Film Critics Lab: A Writing Mentorship Programme organised by The Filmic Eye with support from the Singapore Film Society.

About the Writer: Weng Leong prides himself in having watched Parasite before it won Best Picture in 2020 and will gladly mansplain to anyone why Memories of Murder is Bong Joon-Ho’s best film. He is most often seen talking about film and politics instead of actually studying at SMU.

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About the Movie:

Directed by: Gerard Johnstone

Cast: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng

Year: 2023

Duration: 102 mins

Language: English

Advisory: PG13

Synopsis: A robotics engineer at a toy company builds a life-like doll that begins to take on a life of its own.