Gerard Johnstone's M3gan is a compact and intermittently entertaining PG-13 horror film. The flick functions as the usual cautionary AI fable and an introduction to a distaff Chucky ready to be the face of a new franchise. No new cinematic ground is broken, but I can't complain about the film's craft.
Akela Cooper's script does a good job with its exposition. Allison Williams plays Gemma, a toy designer who is unexpectedly thrust in the role of guardian to her niece after a fatal auto accident. The trauma experienced by the young niece and Gemma's difficulty in transitioning into a parental role are well drawn. When a fully formed M3gan enters the film, some twenty minutes in, the relationship dynamics that she will ultimately disrupt are firmly established. Williams has matured into a pretty good actress. Her apple cheeked, dimpled chin, All American appeal initially masks her character's failings. As in The Perfection, she underplays nicely.
Johnstone gets good performances out of his cast with the exception of Ronny Chieng who, as the toy company CEO, is allowed to huff and puff to little effect. My main reservation about the film is its impersonality. It is a superior Blumhouse product, but a product nonetheless. I enjoy B horror movies, like Stuart Gordon's similar Dolls, with a more personal touch. Perhaps, I am foolish to look for more than product placement in a movie like this, especially when the film starts with, an admittedly amusing, faux commercial.
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