The horror genre has been inundated with fantastic horror flicks recently like Nope, Barbarian and X. With the release of a trailer for M3GAN, produced by legend James Wan, does it look like we have another great on the horizon for this mixed bag of a genre?
M3GAN (Abbreviated for Model 3 Generative Android) is a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s best friend. After M3GAN’s creator, Gemma (Alison Williams), unexpectedly gains custody of her orphaned niece, Katie, she decides to enlist the help of the M3GAN. But perhaps more expectedly, this decision has terrible consequences when M3GAN becomes extremely overprotective and bodies begin piling up.
It is hard to argue that the premise is not somewhat generic, especially with the genre being inundated with dozens of films with spooky dolls. These horrible dolls include, but are not limited to, Chucky, Brahms, Annabelle and those weird misshapen toys from Toy Story 1.
The similarities are glaring, with even Chucky taking a dig at M3GAN on Twitter saying “Everyone tryna be me”. M3GAN did manage to make a retort though by rubbing in the fact that she got under the classic killer doll with “u know u that doll when u cause all this conversation”.
With such a dense subgenre, M3GAN is going to have to do something very special to stand out. But I am cautiously optimistic. With the story being co-written by Akela Cooper and James Wan, I think we can be sure to expect the unexpected, even if the premise does look fairly simple. This isn't the first time Cooper and Wan have worked together with them collaborating on the brilliantly wild Malignant, so hopefully, this film will capture the same lighting in a bottle that did.
While in most evil doll films the doll itself tends to be just that, or an animatronic (with a few exceptions), M3GAN seems to be going with an entirely different approach. The android will be voiced by Jenna Davis but will be played on screen by New Zealander Amie Donald. At only 12 years old, Davis is a professional dancer which you can definitely see through her performance. Alongside the creepy, artificial look makeup, Davis has already created an impressive picture of what we can expect from this character. I for one can’t wait to see what happens.
M3GAN is currently scheduled for a UK release of 13 January 2023.