We need to talk about camp. M3gan demands it. Camp is the art of exaggeration. It’s often used in comedies but has found a welcome home in horror. Camp classics include Basket Case, Frankenhooker, and my favorite, Sleepaway Camp.
The important thing about camp is it takes serious themes and adds ludicrous elements to them. It doesn’t ignore the seriousness of those themes. In fact, the more seriously the ridiculous aspects are treated, the better. Which brings us to M3gan.
By all rights a story about an orphaned girl dealing with grief, neglect from her new guardian and an escalating addiction should be heavy stuff. It’s the campy tone and humor that keeps M3gan enjoyable and the messages digestible.
- Directed By: Gerard Johnstone
- Written By: Akela Cooper James Wan
- Starring: Allison Williams. Violet McGraw. Ronny Chieng
Thematically, this is a story about the dangers of letting technology raise your children. Before they’re killed off in the first few minutes of the movie, Cady’s parents are already worrying about her overuse of her tablet and virtual pet. The virtual pets are, from the beginning, presented as nightmare fuel. They’re rude and crass and have tiny, bitey teeth. It’s a perfect mass consumerism product.
M3gan the robot, on the other hand, is soft and sweet. She’s childlike but not childish, perfect for empathizing with a grieving child. Also perfect for Gemma, her workaholic aunt and now guardian,to abdicate her newfound parental responsibility. The movie even includes taking over parenting as a key feature of M3gan. These scenes are played as perfectly straight, which only emphasizes how dangerous and ludicrous the very idea of this kind of toy is. In a world where parents have already abdicated so much of their responsibility to screen time, is it though?
The Glitch
The real trouble with M3gan doesn’t start until she learns about death. Especially since she has also been given the new primary objective to protect Cady from physical and emotional harm. Turns out, she’s just as effective at that as she is viral dances and bedtime stories. Like any good program, she’ll solve problems in the most efficient way possible. Of course, she also murders people, but she does it out of love.
By the time Gemma realizes Cady is overly dependent on M3gan, it is far too late. The psychiatrist sums it up perfectly: “If you make a toy that’s impossible to let go of, how do you expect the child to grow?” M3gan works for me because this statement can be applied to much of our current tech. Social media, gaming systems; all these things are fine in moderation but the dependency on them is what causes issues.
M3gan is not a “technology is evil” movie. It is very much a “dependency on technology is problematic” movie. It wraps this message in a campy, fun package. But the message is clear as day. We need technology, but we cannot become addicted to it. Nor can we allow ourselves to be replaced by it.
So, What About M3gan 2.0?
The good news is if you like combination of campy humor and action, you’re probably going to enjoy M3gan2.0. In a lot of ways, it follows the spirit of the original. However, 2.0 leans heavily into the action over tension. It’s not a horror movie, but it’s fun.
- Directed By: Gerard Johnstone
- Written By: Akela Cooper. Gerard Johnstone. James Wan
- Starring: Allison Williams Amie Donald Violet McGraw Jenna Davis
It also shifts the themes slightly. Gemma is still dealing with balancing her work and parenting responsibilities. Only now, she has the added guilt of her role in M3gan’s rampage. It’s made her swing wildly in the opposite direction with technology. She still works and innovates, but she believes in extreme oversight and ethical regulation.
Cady is angry that she’s being treated like a kid. She’s in a very age-appropriate place and the script wisely keeps it balanced between her complaints being reasonable and also maybe a little bit over dramatic. She is only twelve and she’s dealing with some big issues. Like the loss of her parents and her robot, and the idea that maybe the robot friend that was willing to kill for her, never actually liked her.
Relevant Story But Still Kinda Silly
The nature of programmed affection vs free will is briefly touched on. It’s not really a deep theme in M3gan 2.0,but it’s referenced enough to warrant a mention. Morality in A.I. and the responsibilities of human programmers is far more prevalent as a theme. But the two do tie together as there are questions as to what Amelia (the new robot) and M3gan are doing on their own versus part of their core programming. Some of these never get any clear resolution; they could be interpreted either way.
There is a lot I liked about M3gan 2.0. Visually there are some nice references to sci-fi classics. When I say classics, I mean some of the originals. The story may be referencing these as well, but I don’t want to get into spoilers this early. It’s a cool moment either way, in a third act that is full of cool moments and near non-stop action.
It does take a while to ramp up to the fun parts of the movie. I usually appreciate a film for building character and setting, but I’m here for M3gan’s sass and robot-on-robot violence.
The Trailers Lie
I brought H3 to M3gan 2.0 after he kind-of dug the original. He was honest about not being excited based on the trailer. Fortunately, some of the worst parts of the trailer aren’t in the movie. It’s one of the worst-cut trailers in recent times, and I think that’s saying something. There are at least three scenes that aren’t in the movie, and dialogue is cut in the wrong scenes and generally makes them look more awkward than they are. It’s not often that a movie is better than the trailer makes it look; M3gan 2.0 proves it’s possible.
Final Thoughts:
There are a lot of horror movies that do sub-genre switches after the first movie. M3gan is not unusual in that regard. The marketing has made it obvious that it’s happening as well. M3gan 2.0 manages to keep her sharp tone while still fulfilling the basic requirements of “good guy”. It’s a fun version of her to watch, and probably a much more sell-able one too. I’m not sure if there is enough story left for a third installment, or if audiences have an appetite for her. It would be hard to replicate the viral success of the original, no matter how likeable the lead is.
M3gan is available in streaming M3gan 2.0 is in theaters now
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