M3GAN is a Horror/Sci-fi film produced by Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster. It debuted January 6, 2023, in theaters and is rated PG-13, though it does have a couple gory scenes and occasional jumpscares that may be hard on younger viewers.

After the death of eight-year-old Cady’s (Violet Mcgraw) parents, she ends up under the care of her Aunt Gemma (Allison Williams) who works as a roboticist at a toy company. Gemma is a workaholic and doesn’t really have time to care for a child, so she gifts Cady a project she had been working on at work, the project being Model 3 Generative Android (M3GAN). It is programmed to be a caretaker and a friend to whoever it is “paired” to. 

The tagline of the movie really encapsulates where this doll turns evil and oversteps its boundaries, “She’s more than a toy. She’s family.” It tries to harm anything that could be of potential harm to Cady and forgets it is an assistant and not an actual member of their family.

The movie does have a couple comedic relief moments. M3GAN sings and dances several times in the movie, even sometimes singing at random, which is hilarious and softens the blow, especially for someone who doesn’t really like horror. 

Certain parts of the movie are really refreshing such as when the case worker (who has to check up on Cady to make sure she is safe with Gemma) explains the psychological aspect of how the doll affects Cady’s ability to cope with the death of her parents.

This hints at the idea that it is not healthy for a child who recently lost her parents to attach to a robotic doll that acts as a friend and replaces them. In this case, she would have Gemma and not have to seek M3GAN for comfort. This subtle hint is all the viewer needs to understand attachment issues and why it can have a negative effect on people (especially children) dealing with grief.M3GAN is similar to Annabelle (2014), a film by the same production company. In both films, a child is gifted a doll that turns evil and tries to kill people. M3GAN is a commentary about the real world and how society may rely on technology too much. It’s a modern twist on horror, seeing how important robots and AI are and how they can potentially lead to bad things.