GLOBAL NEWS—From the most prolific mind in horror, James Wan, the filmmaker behind the immensely popular Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring films, and Blumhouse, producer of the Halloween flicks, The Black Phone, and The Invisible Man, comes M3GAN, the fresh new face of fear.
M3GAN is an artificial intelligence marvel, a life-like doll built to be a child’s best friend and a parent’s best ally. M3GAN, designed by genius toy-company roboticist Gemma (Get Out’s Allison Williams), can listen, observe, and learn as she transforms into the child’s companion and teacher, playmate and protector.
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When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House), Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems—a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.
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As M3GAN and Cady develop an unbreakable bond, Gemma grows more and more terrified that the very creation she invented to help Cady heal is learning at an exponential rate…and that M3GAN may be perceiving threats to Cady that do not exist. M3GAN also co-stars Ronny Chieng (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as David, Gemma’s C.E.O. at the toy company that bankrolls what will become M3GAN and is directed by Gerard Johnston.
James Wan, who also helmed Aquaman and visited the Philippines for the film’s world promotion tour shared that his latest-produced horror movie M3GAN began with the conversation that there are not enough killer-doll movies.
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“That led me to say, ‘It’s funny. There is a perception that I make those kinds of films. Strangely enough, none of my dolls kill anyone. They are a conduit for a supernatural entity or a demonic force that lives within. For example, in the case of Saw, Jigsaw has a puppet that he talks through as a mouthpiece. Wouldn’t it be cool if we did a killer-doll movie that was Annabelle meets The Terminator,” Wan says.
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On a broader cultural level, the film explores our increasing dependence on technology to run our lives and the potential threat if that tech begins to exceed our control. “The science and the A.I. aspects were fascinating with which to play, as they are so relevant to today’s world, we rely on technology so much in everything we do. For these devices to turn around and attack us would be horrifying. That’s the thing that we wanted to try and capture with M3GAN,” Wan furthers.
The Universal Pictures International feature film, M3GAN released in theaters on January 8, 2023.