I didn't vibe with M3gan's trailer when I first saw it. Killer artificial intelligence has been done time and time again plus adding the killer doll tropes just made it seem all the more cliche. But then the reviews came out, with critics heralding M3gan as a "campy masterpiece" and "hilarious" which admittedly piqued my interest. Having now seen M3gan, it's a comedy first but there's enough horror here to still qualify it for the genre. There are moments where M3gan is running down a prospective victim or doling out her varied forms of punishment that had me shuddering in my seat. Most of it is happening off screen but I was pleasantly surprised by how far the movie pushed the envelope, even if it was only implied. So while I can't call M3gan horrific or even scary, there's sufficient creepy material to qualify it for the genre still.

Even though M3gan is kind of sporting the horror genre as a mask, I was mostly impressed with what the movie decided to focus its efforts on. Starting with the characters, I was surprised at how rough and awkward they made Gemma's character. This was actually a plus for me, it setup her reasons for pushing M3gan further even when it wasn't prudent to do so. She doesn't have paternal instincts and continues to be largely selfish so why not create something to do it for her? (this is obviously problematic thinking but more on that later). It also made her eventual connection with Cady more improbable yet believable. The film also points out the unhealthy nature of Cady's attachment to M3gan several times in a clinical fashion. It establishes the stakes of how Gemma's choices have put Cady's mental health in jeopardy and possibly caused long-term damage to her. I also appreciated Gemma's team (Cole and Tess) calling her out for her continued disregard of Cady in favour of her work. Surprisingly, M3gan also had a few moments when she's trying to convince people to see things "her" way that she was surprisingly persuasive. Those moments helped me see her as more than just a mindless murdering machine. The only character that they missed the mark with is Gemma's boss David who is just too cartoonish to buy as an actual person. This decision seems to have been made to help make the corporate climate in the movie feel more ridiculous but they could have turned it down a notch without harming the overall tone. I wouldn't call it exemplary or superior character building but there's enough work put in to build tension and get you to care about the characters even if it's in a passive way.

M3gan only centres around a few characters so there isn't a huge cast to talk about. Allison Williams capably anchors the movie as Gemma. I haven't seen her in much since Get Out but her work in that was no fluke. She sells the unlikeable Gemma and then when she learns the error of her ways, she does a decent job of managing the turn. Violet McGraw does a good job as the largely meek and gentle Cady. Her scenes where she flips out are startling and not as believable but she still grades out well overall. Ronny Chieng is a little over-the-top as David but I have to assume he was being directed that way, even if not I still appreciate that he went for it as opposed to just slouching through it. Lori Dungey was also good, her character starts out as unassuming but becomes nastier as the proceedings keep moving. She kept it light enough to keep you from getting distracted but dark enough that you only felt so bad for her.

I've talked about almost all of the other larger components of M3gan, the biggest and most notable takeaway is that if you've got a darker sense of humour, M3gan is pretty funny throughout. From minute one, M3gan let's you know what's up. The original Funki toys are so off-putting that they can't be taken sincerely and their functions are so comedic that the movie is making poop jokes with them. As much as I want to credit the design work and acting required to bring M3gan to life, she's so far in the uncanny valley that she must be a permanent resident. The thought that anyone would buy her for their child is laughable. If you saw her in real life, you would shriek and run the other way instead of trusting her to care for your kids. To the movie's credit, this is clearly done intentionally and the creative team is winking at the audience. The scene where M3gan starts dancing to distract her prey is so creepily comedic that I was openly laughing at the thought that anyone would take it seriously. M3gan isn't as uproarious as the Happy Death Day series but they hit the right balance to make a good campy comedy.

My advice with M3gan is to not take it too earnestly and go in ready to acknowledge how ridiculous it is. You're clearly supposed to be laughing with it and I did continuously. The critical praise has been a little hyperbolic but it's more difficult to achieve the correct mixture for something like this to work. I would happily recommend M3gan to horror enthusiasts looking for something that plays with the formula for comedic effect. I would grade it as a 7.5/10 rounding up in this case to an 8/10. A sequel has already been announced and I'm looking forward to checking it out when it's released.

Hands down the better reboot of Child's Play than Child's Play (2019). Although it's predictable from start to finish, it was at least a better made movie in terms of production design and cinematography.

And yes when you think about it too much, a lot of it doesn't make any sense. Why are all of the adults dumb or willfully ignorant when it comes to implementing AI into their prototype? Why didn't they have the slightest foresight or precautions in store if something goes wrong? Why does a puppet for kids posses the strength of a Terminator? And if said robot is so dangerous, why not disconnect the brain chip entirely from the body when doing any fail safe tests?

But even with all the predictability and the leaps in logic I was still entertained. Maybe because I haven't seen a trailer, the movie had actually some neat visual ideas in store. I liked some of the cinematography, there were some pretty interesting shots in the forest and towards the end. The choreography of the puppet was pretty well done, it is a blend of animatronics, mo-cap and vfx animation, depending on the shot. The movie is a bit tame in terms of showing actual violence. The actual showdown could have been a bit more creative. It felt like the 7th studio re-write to punch up the final confrontation but it felt somehow weak, I expected a bit more shock value. Basically it's like a glorified Black Mirror episode, but without going too dark unfortunately. It's still a solid horror movie for the average moviegoer or as an introduction into horror movies. But I'm afraid horror fans might be a bit disappointed by the lack of commitment the movie has towards the genre.

Most movies seem to either be underwhelming or just fine. Once in a great while, they over-deliver and exceed your expectations. But possibly the rarest result is when you are excited to see a movie and you get exactly what you'd hoped for. For me, M3GAN was a blast of entertainment, a perfect concoction of a well-paced story that is just there for you to have fun with. Okay, if I'm honest, it did have some moments that elevated my enjoyment even a little more than I'd hoped--they went to a few places I could not have expected. That doesn't mean that the story wasn't predictable; it was pretty clear where this was going the whole time. But it was still fun and memorable, and I expect that if I ever happen to walk into a room where someone has this movie on, I will sit and watch with them to the end. I enjoyed it.