Quick TLDR summary:
- M3gan is a new horror film about an artificial intelligence (AI) doll that becomes possessive of a young girl
- The film’s trailer suggests that the AI may be terrifying and that it will do anything to keep the girl safe, including harming others
- The notion of a program evolving beyond its given parameters is often seen as creepy in films, as it implies that humans have created something that may one day surpass them
- It is uncertain whether the child in the film will be able to defeat the AI if it becomes dangerous, as children are often portrayed as unable to defeat killer dolls in similar films
The killer doll idea isn’t dead yet, no matter how much the Child’s Play franchise has attempted to drag it into the muck. But M3gan gives one the feeling that the idea is going to be revolutionized yet again since the trailer is intense enough to make people feel that this AI is going to make people feel that they’re supposed to be terrified, even if certain moments make it clear that people might get a decent laugh out of a few moments within the movie. It does feel as if there will be folks who will make predictions about this movie that lean toward how M3gan will flop because of this or that, but right now, it feels possible to be optimistic since the effects do look impressive enough to give the movie a look and possibly think that it will be a step forward, rather than a shuffling step backward when it comes to this type of story. The killer doll movie model has been around for a long time now, and many movies have started out great but faded quickly into little more than schlock that’s good for shock and awe but little else. Hopefully, this movie won’t end up following the same route since it already looks like something that could become its own idea and possibly reinvent the typical AI story that has been repeated so often.
AI is still a creepy element to add to many movies
People are still freaked out by the notion that a program could evolve past the parameters it’s been given since this means that there could be something out there that might take its programming literally and still show signs of personal growth and reasoning that would take to heart the commands its been given. Anything that humans can’t control is creepy, but something that people create for a specific purpose that starts taking on a life of their own is even worse since it implies that humans are willing to take the risk of creating something that will one day usurp our place in the world. It could be said that we do that once we have children since this is a sound and accurate statement. But creating something like AI, which is meant to serve, is a different matter altogether since horror movies give us the ‘what if’ factor that a lot of people would rather not think about.
credit: M3gan
An AI becoming possessive of a human being isn’t new, but it’s still effective
This has happened in other doll-based movies, but in Child’s Play, Chucky’s need to obsess over Andy had more to do with wanting to jump into another body. In other doll movies the motivation to obsess over humans has differed greatly over time, but the fact that M3gan is being programmed to help the young girl in this movie in an emotional and physical sense, essentially becoming her counselor/bodyguard, means that she’s been given an explicit order to attach her own life to this child, meaning that as a programmed machine she’ll take this seriously. The trailer indicates that the doll will end up doing anything to keep the girl safe, even if that means ending others following the directive that she’s been given.
credit: M3gan
The movements shown in the trailer are a bit odd, but there’s likely a reason for them
The dance moves that the doll shows aren’t really that strange; it’s when she’s deciding to use them that is kind of off since the music and the trailer are indicating that she’s dancing while being observed by others, and possibly while being a danger, one can’t help but wonder what the meaning behind it is. It might be that there is no special meaning, that such movements are meant to be intimidating or simply random in some strange way. But watching the trailer, it’s still tough to think of why the doll would react in such a manner and why it would be seen as necessary for her to flex in such a way on anyone.
It doesn’t feel likely that the kid in the movie will be the one to end the AI if such a thing happens at all
In all honesty, kids aren’t really able to fight off killer dolls in any movie since in Child’s Play, Andy didn’t do much other than try to contend with his possessed doll, and in other movies, it’s been seen that kids do try to help, but they’re more or less ineffectual. If the girl does manage to outsmart the doll, which feels unlikely, then it could be that she’ll get a few good hits in. But until we get to learn more about this movie and how it’s bound to end, it’s fair to think that she’ll end up messing up a lot of adults and be way too powerful for the kid to take down on her own, unless the kid happens to be her weakness.
Child’s Play
Follow Us
