Skip to main content

M3GAN (2023)

 


M3GAN is a horror movie with the mashup idea of what if the killer doll idea was an artificial intelligence.

With a story by and Produced by James Wan, M3GAN has a marketing team that struck gold. Just look at the box office for a horror movie in the Hollywood dumping ground of January. James Wan is a modern-day Wes Craven and shouldn't need an introduction but I'll mention a few of his works, Saw, The Conjuring, and Insidious.

A part of me thinks the reason why Blumhouse (Production company), and Universal (Distributer) dumped this movie in January was because of the relatively unknown director of Gerard Johnstone. I can only imagine that confidence in him has skyrocketed since this success, as there wasn't too much wrong with the direction.

I imagine that the doll itself is partly CG in the face especially. I'm looking forward to The Corridor Crew doing a deep dive to find out the mystery of how they accomplished the look of M3GAN played by newcomer and accomplished dancer Amie Donald. You can see that dancing ability all over tik tock.

Allison Williams is the biggest star in the film. This is the second horror movie of hers I've seen, see Jordan Peele's Get Out. If she's trying to become the next horror final girl, Mia Goth and Genna Ortega are giving her a run for her money. That being said she does great though I wonder if she's getting a bad reputation based on the characters she plays. In Get Out she wasn't the best person in the world and here she's a selfish aunt.

My biggest issue with the film is the writing. Written by Akela Cooper, there are just scenes that I would have totally rewritten. Don't get me wrong her writing has gotten better since Hell Fest and Malignant, but she still has a long road ahead if she plans to stick around in Hollywood. Riding on James Wan's coattails won't work forever. 

Regardless, M3GAN is a decent addition to horror films and an alright way to start 2023. My original rating for the film is a C.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie (2026)

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie is another cookie-cutter entry in the Paw Patrol franchise, so there isn't much to say about the story itself. This time, the focus is on Marshall, the team's resident firefighter, or perhaps "firedog" in this case. The movie is wholesome and delivers exactly what you'd expect from a Paw Patrol film, even if it doesn't do much to distinguish itself from the previous entries. Mckenna Grace voices Skye, although you would never know it from the performance. Her voice is so normal for the character that Grace's usual presence is virtually unrecognizable. Terry Crews , on the other hand, voices Alistair Stonewall, and you can definitely tell it's him. His recognizable voice and personality come through clearly and make the character more memorable. Snoop Dogg also makes a fun cameo as Dave, the owner of a yacht who enjoys fishing. It's a small role, but his recognizable voice and personality make it a welcome surprise. T...

The End of Oak Street (2026)

The End of Oak Street starts with Anne Hathaway immediately establishing herself as the film's strongest performer, especially when compared to the wooden performance from Ewan McGregor . The premise of a writer struggling with an unsupportive spouse hits close to home for me. The split-focus direction from David Robert Mitchell isn't particularly new or uniquely executed. Instead, it often feels disorienting without accomplishing what I assume was the intention. Mitchell also struggles with the screenplay, as the dialogue can be atrocious at times and boring the rest of the time. This isn't his first failed attempt at writing interesting characters, which makes it understandable why he hasn't written or directed anything in eight years. Anne Hathaway is easily the best part of the film. She brings enough personality and emotional weight to keep the movie watchable despite the material surrounding her. Unfortunately, even Hathaway can't carry the entire film. Ew...

Sleepwalker (2026)

Sleepwalker is a horror thriller written and directed by Brandon Auman , who quickly reminds us why his career has primarily been in television rather than feature films. Writing for children's television can sometimes get away with simplistic dialogue and storytelling, but those weaknesses become glaring when stretched into a feature-length horror movie. The screenplay is filled with clunky dialogue and predictable horror beats, while the jump scares rarely land. Instead of creating tension, the film repeatedly left me sighing in boredom. Hayden Panettiere delivers a strong performance despite the material she's been given. It's clear that many of her lines weren't written with much care, but she does what she can to make the character feel believable. Knowing this is her final film makes the performance bittersweet, especially because she deserved a much better script to go out on. Fortunately, her performance here doesn't diminish the work she's done in bet...