For years, the horror genre in the movie industry has been dominated by psychological horror: Think Get Out (2017), Midsommar (2019), Hereditary (2018), and more. Characterised by subtlety and sophistication, these flicks often serve audiences a brand of horror so understatedly harrowing that leaves even the most fervent horror fans leaving the theatre acutely disconcerted.
But, fear not (Ironically)! Traditional horror flicks seem to be enjoying a renaissance of sorts. I’m talking about your cheesy, jumpscare-heavy films. Sometimes, the perfect horror flick is not the one that incites rumination about the human experience, but rather the one that simply gets you screaming. The latest addition to the slate of horror films that do exactly just this is the 2022 Horror-Comedy, M3GAN.
Lots of fun.
M3GAN introduces to the world an eponymous child-sized humanoid robot doll powered by artificial intelligence, reminiscent of the many iconic killer dolls of yesteryear who have graced the silver screen, such as Chucky and Annabelle. A quick watch of the movie’s trailer should be more than enough for you to glean the idiosyncratic nature of M3GAN’s horror and comedy. The artful interweaving of the backing track (A haunting rendition of Taylor Swift's It’s Nice To Have A Friend) and a tease of M3GAN’s stirring dance sequence distinctly heralded the abundance of zaniness I was in for.
The plot of the film is relatively straightforward. Gemma, played by Allison William, is a roboticist who invented M3GAN to serve as a companion for her bereaved niece Cady after gaining custody of her. The premise of the movie may seem banal, but please do not be fooled as M3GAN is an excellent balance of camp and horror.
Above anything else, M3GAN was an entertaining watch. It was cheesy, for sure, but in masterful moderation. There was gore, and there were jumpscares. But they did not oversaturate and cheapen the film, and were instead strategically peppered throughout to constantly keep me in frightful anticipation. For all the times I was not busy flinching, I was in uncontrollable laughter. M3GAN offers a refreshing tone of horror after the recent waves of grim and gloom in the horror industry, with many scenes bearing uncanny resemblances to works such as Scary Movie and Saturday Night Live skits.
Social Commentary!
Impressively enough, for all its over-the-top theatrics and absurdity, M3GAN is not just another hollow and vacuous husk of a movie. The film is thoughtfully undergirded by the gripping social commentary about Artificial Intelligence and its role in our society. More specifically, M3GAN grapples with the idea of AI’s involvement in parenting and companionship, and its depiction of the cataclysmic unravelling of Gemma and Cady’s lives at the hands of M3GAN seems to allude to the unsustainability of the adoption of parental figures by AI. M3GAN is ultimately an allegory of the ramifications that arise from an over-reliance of AI in our daily lives, one that is especially apt in our contemporary society, with the worrying rise of AI and technology dominating the parenting process.
For this reason, M3GAN is truly a worthwhile watch; an eccentric conflation of the farcical and the terror, with the social criticism apparent enough for the movie to serve as a sincere and campy wake-up slap to society’s face, yet at the same time, subdued enough for you to leave the theatre without feeling smothered by sanctimonious virtue signalling.
Watch or Not?
If it isn’t already abundantly clear, you should definitely watch M3GAN! With the bevy of horror movies nowadays, M3GAN is truly remarkable just for how different it is. Whether the sequel, M3GAN 2.0 (which has already been greenlit), will receive similar critical and cultural appreciation remains to be seen. However, I have high hopes that the lovechild of Chucky and the Terminator will find herself amongst the greatest of the greats, prancing and somersaulting her way into the pantheon of revered Hollywood horror icons, just as she did our hearts.
All in all, M3GAN makes for a fantastic movie-going experience whether you’re a horror fanatic or just want to have a good time!
Written by: Reyess Peh Qi Xun (22A15)
Edited by: Lee Ren Kai Artemus (22A15), Charlize Ling Xuan Ting (22S77)
Comentarios