The Latest “Killer Doll” Movie

M3gan is the latest addition to the “killer doll” subgenre, a surprisingly popular concept that dates back at least several decades. It may seem odd that a toy designed to be harmless entertainment would inspire so many horror movies, but there is something fundamentally eerie about an object that looks human. That’s why killer doll movies (and horror films about ventriloquist dummies, mannequins, puppets, wax figures, etc.) are often popular.

Gemma (Allison Williams) is a Seattle roboticist who works at a high-end toy company. Hoping to bolster her career, Gemma creates a lifelike robotic doll, M3gan, who is designed to be a companion and friend to lonely young girls. Gemma becomes the guardian of her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw) after Cady’s parents are killed in a car accident. Gemma has no experience with children and struggles to relate to Cady. She decides to give the traumatized girl a prototypical version of M3gan to test the doll’s appeal and effectiveness.

At first, M3gan seems like the perfect companion for Cady. The doll plays tic tac toe, reminds Cady to wash her hands after using the bathroom, and even performs a decent rendition of the hit Sia song “Titanium.” M3gan is designed to learn and improve as she gains experience with her primary user. Her rapid ability to absorb new information surprises everyone. David (Ronnie Cheng), Gemma’s arrogant boss, is skeptical. After seeing Cady interact with the doll, the company is impressed and decides to hype M3gan as a product that will revolutionize the toy industry.

“I have a new primary user now – me.”

However, the doll’s protectiveness soon goes overboard. She is determined to punish anyone who she perceives as a threat to Cady. Gemma realizes that M3gan must be stopped at all costs. But Cady has become emotionally attached to the doll, and she is vehemently against being separated from her murderous new pal.

M3gan develops a snarky sense of humor. She enjoys swearing and taunting her victims. In perhaps the movie’s best moment, the doll taunts David by performing a bizarre dance routine, before grabbing a paper cutter and chasing him down a hallway.

Allison Williams and Violet McGraw are well-cast but are limited by the script’s shallow characterizations. This isn’t the type of movie where characters are given much depth or sophistication, but they have good chemistry together.

M3gan is portrayed by the child actress Amie Donald. The doll’s voice is supplied by Jenna Davis, an adult, which makes sense since Donald’s parents probably wouldn’t have approved of their kid spouting the doll’s profane dialogue. Both Donald and Davis do a good job of giving M3gan personality and charisma.

M3gan was produced by James Wan, who previously made Saw and Dead Silence. Unlike those films, M3gan was made with the PG-13 rating in mind. Most of the film’s violence is not shown explicitly, but the faint of heart may still be troubled by the film’s darker moments. No one, not even dogs or small children, is safe from M3gan’s wrath.

Chucky vs. M3gan?

No M3gan movie review would be complete without mentioning the inevitable comparisons to Chucky from “Child’s Play”. Although they seem similar, there are significant differences between the two characters. Chucky is possessed by the soul of a serial killer, Charles Lee Ray. M3gan is a robot who evolves into an amoral mini-terminator after becoming more intelligent than her creators intended. Maybe someday there will be a Chucky vs. M3gan movie. Freddy vs. Jason happened, so anything’s possible.

Rating:

Is it possible for a horror movie to work if it isn’t scary or gory? In this case, yes. M3gan is an entertaining dark comedy with a memorable villain who is on her way to becoming a horror icon.

Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece) 7/10