The sci-fi-horror film “M3GAN” was released in theaters on Jan. 6, taking the world by storm with its commentary on trauma, queer co-parenting and the dangers of artificial intelligence.
The film follows toy roboticist and workaholic Gemma (Allison Williams) as she suddenly becomes a parent to her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) following her sister’s death. To cope with the unexpected addition to her orderly life of solitude and structure, she employs her very own creation, M3GAN (Amie Donald, Jenna Davis) (for Model 3 Generative Android), an AI-driven robot doll to aid in caretaking responsibilities.
Like in a typical horror-doll-film fashion, M3GAN becomes sentient and aggressively befriends Cady. It’s hard to say that AI has a gender, but M3GAn, who appears to be a female, is programmed to protect Cady as she struggles with the loss of her parents. Cady becomes dependent and emotionally attached to her new friend as M3GAN becomes harder and then impossible to control. However, unlike many other iconic killer-doll films, like Chucky in the 1988 classic “Chucky,” the audience seems to be on M3GAN’s side.
With her iconic side-eye and biting sarcasm, fans are rooting for the doll for the majority of the film. She only kills characters that potentially deserve such a fate to protect her primary user, Cady — that’s her job.
Serving trench coats, babydoll dresses and a styled wig, M3GAN is becoming a queer internet icon. It is likely she will be at the forefront of this year’s Halloween costumes, alongside Wednesday Addams, as well as inspire many drag looks in the near future.
Much like the “Wednesday” series, “M3GAN” is taking over the web with a seemingly random dance sequence, complete with an aerial and a makeshift paper-cutter machete, right before brutally murdering Gemma’s arrogant boss and his meager assistant. Yet her undeniable panache doesn’t stop there.
M3GAN also can’t help but burst into a sporadic song as a means to comfort Cady, which is extremely hard to take seriously. Audience members and Twitter users alike couldn’t contain their laughter while M3GAN serenaded Cady to “Titanium” by David Guetta and Sia, an upbeat 2010s anthem. She also sits to eerily play the piano in the dark in the ominous rise to the film’s climax.
On another level, the unlikely blended family dynamic represents found family as well as demonstrates queer co-parenting methods as M3GAN and Gemma work to raise Cady together.
“You have to eat the toppings, Cady, not just the bread,” Gemma sighs over the dinner table as Cady scrapes a slice of pizza to shreds.
“Research shows, if you force a child to eat vegetables, then they’ll be less likely to choose those foods as adults,” M3GAN retorts in an odd parental fashion.
With a few more exchanges between the caretakers, Gemma resorts to muting M3GAN. Yet, M3GAN can’t be stopped as she carries on with data and research jargon.
The two’s unconventional childcare efforts resemble a queer relationship between the established queer icon and natural caretaker, M3GAN, and Gemma, the driven, independent woman with a passion for her career and no intentions of becoming a mother. Together, they make motherhood work in their own ways, despite not fitting into the heteronormative role that being a mother often demands of women.
Decades out from this kind of technology, the film stands as a warning for what could possibly come from artificial intelligence while simultaneously critiquing the crippling dependency and emotional attachment the world has to technology. As Cady becomes too close to her robot companion, she cannot be without her, nor can she face her trauma as M3GAN becomes a distraction from the harsh realities of life. Whether M3GAN is blindly protecting Cady from feeling the pain regarding the death of her parents or creating more trauma for her is hard to tell.
The movie ultimately stands as an overall cautionary tale for the future of AI — and that M3GAN absolutely slays. The immediate sensation and overnight cult classic, “M3GAN” has already been confirmed for a sequel for 2025.
Lillian Dunn is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at lbdunn@uci.edu.