From death by power washer to a murderous "doom dance," these are
the wild M3GAN moments that will keep you up at night for weeks to come.
One of the joys in any robot-centric film,
horror or otherwise, is seeing the android getting assembled. A prime example of this is the opening
title sequence of Short Circuit, which takes ample time to show the construction of Johnny 5.
"Hello, bozos!"
Early on in M3GAN we're introduced to Gemma and the fancy toy company she works for,
the Funki Company. Funki is shown to specialize in highly sophisticated
robotic toys, most famously a Hatchimals and Furby-like hybrid known as a Perpetual Pet.
However, it's quickly shown that Gemma and two of her cronies have bigger plans in mind,
much to their boss David's chagrin. Their initial demo doesn't go as planned,
with the prototype M3GAN glitching out. It's here that we get to see M3GAN in the
early stages of her construction, still missing many of her key visual features.
With her exposed metallic skull being outfitted with its flesh-like exterior,
it even conjures up memories of the Child's Play 2 title sequence. Seeing M3GAN in this unfinished,
borderline skeletal state is more than a little bit creepy, and a solid omen of what's to come.
From the moment M3GAN is
fully constructed, it doesn't take too long for things to go from zero to creepy. We see that,
following a conversation with her niece Cady, Gemma is driven to improve the prototype robot
she'd previously shown her boss. Cady, upon seeing an old robot of Gemma's named Bruce,
notes that if she had something like it she'd likely never need another toy. This
results in Gemma giving her invention a complete top-to-bottom overhaul, designed to be just right
for Cady and potentially other children. This eventually results in the fully finished M3GAN,
complete with fashionable clothes and a cute — if uncanny — face.
Upon their admittedly very bizarre introduction to each other, M3GAN quickly pairs with Cady
as her primary user. It's during this sequence we are given a taste of M3GAN's point-of-view,
a recurring motif throughout the film. In an instant, M3GAN makes Cady's happiness her number
one goal. Certainly nothing unsettling about that ... right? It's a moment that's disturbing due to
the film's premise, meaning that you, the viewer, know already that this can only end badly.
It doesn't take too long for things
to get creepy with M3GAN, as it becomes clear that she takes her programming a little too seriously.
After pairing with Cady, maintaining her happiness and well-being soon becomes a consistent mission
for M3GAN. At first it seems innocent enough, as it appears that M3GAN is meeting her objective
with flying colors. She successfully dazzles Gemma's boss and a room of potential product
investors during an in-house presentation. Then, M3GAN and Cady begin playing constantly,
with Cady taking more and more of a shine to her new robotic companion as the days go on.
However, it seems that M3GAN has taken a major shine to Cady as well,
going as far as to watch her as she sleeps. This is one of the first signs that M3GAN
is starting to go wrong, as this is the time she should be offline recharging. We've seen
variations on this moment in other movies, most recently the 2019 Child's Play reboot.
"You're my best friend Andy."
That film already proved that placing an unchecked artificial
intelligence in a children's toy is a bad idea. Needless to say,
M3GAN does a pretty good job in this film of giving Chucky a run for his money.
You never mess with someone's BFF,
especially when that someone is an unstable android with rapidly evolving
killing capabilities. The catalyst for the film's events are set in motion when Cady's parents are
killed in a car accident. This leaves her in the care of Gemma, her mother's sister,
who must now serve as her guardian. As part of this newfound arrangement, a child therapist makes
semi-regular visits to see how Cady is adjusting. The first visit serves to show the audience just
how unprepared Gemma is as a new guardian, not really knowing how to interact with Cady.
However, the awkwardness of this encounter is upstaged by the therapist's next visit, when M3GAN
is present. The therapist's very serious line of questioning quickly upsets Cady, bringing her to
tears, much to M3GAN's very heated disapproval. M3GAN then proceeds to threaten the therapist,
simply telling her, "You made [Cady] cry," which understandably unsettles both adults in the room.
The film's climax truly kicks off on the
night of M3GAN's intended public unveiling, which is where everything goes completely sideways. It's
at this point of the film that Gemma finally steps up in terms of her guardianship of Cady. Following
a heated conversation, Gemma opts to dip out on the highly touted presentation to drive Cady home
and put her to bed. During this time, M3GAN is restrained in a harness prior to her unveiling,
being prepped by Gemma's coworkers, Cole and Tess. However, as things start to go
on the fritz it soon becomes clear to them that something is very wrong with M3GAN.
Before they can successfully unplug her, M3GAN launches her counterattack, starting by tying
Cole up in her restraints. She's then able to intercept a phone call intended to warn Gemma,
who's currently in transit with Cady. M3GAN then releases some gas and sets off an explosion,
setting Gemma's workspace ablaze with Cole and Tess inside. It's from here
that M3GAN begins her epic rampage that makes up the film's final act.
"It's insane, right?"
From the minute the trailer for M3GAN dropped, there was no escaping this utterly meme-worthy
moment. As the film settles in for its third act, M3GAN fully solidifies her psychopathic turn by
going berserk ahead of her public unveiling. Not only does she assault Gemma's coworkers, nearly
scorching them alive, but then goes after Gemma's boss David as well. As David marches the hallway,
miffed over Gemma's premature departure, M3GAN makes her presence known in a big bad way. She
chases David down and as she glides through the hallway, proceeds to bust into a bizarre dance.
While this moment is still disturbing in a darkly humorous way,
there's no denying that the scene is just that — humorous. Granted,
this does culminate in David's gruesome demise, but the buildup to it is a supremely campy
moment in an already campy movie. M3GAN has a solid balance of horror and humor,
often to simultaneously great effect, but this moment definitely leans heavier into the comedy.
The film's finale
is a true nail-biter, as it seems that nothing can really stop M3GAN, who just keeps coming
with relentless tenacity. But despite the robot's best efforts, with Cady's help,
Gemma is able to finally put M3GAN down for good just as the cops arrive. Not only that,
but it's shown that her coworkers, clearly a bit worse for wear, also survived. This allows an
exhausted Gemma to take Cady and finally depart, leaving their technological nightmare behind.
All seems to be wrapped up in a neat little bow — that is, until we see Gemma's Siri-like home
assistant come back online. Much like other great slasher villains like Chucky or Jason,
it appears that M3GAN might have been able to cheat her demise in haunting fashion.
Whether or not this will lead to an '80s slasher-style sequel remains to be seen,
but it certainly wouldn't be unwelcome.
Early on in M3GAN, we're shown that Gemma has to
deal with a rather nosy neighbor who has a rather annoying dog. At first, it's shown that Gemma has
to constantly tell her neighbor to keep the dog off of her property. After Cady and M3GAN have a
run-in with the dog, the pesky canine soon ends up in M3GAN's cybernetic crosshairs. M3GAN dispatches
the dog off-screen, causing the neighbor to immediately point a finger at Cady and Gemma.
Despite police intervention, there's nothing to really connect them to it beyond the
previous incident, much to the neighbor's annoyance. Not one to leave loose ends,
M3GAN sets her sights on the neighbor, and makes her move later that night. She hides
in the neighbors shed and, after emerging from the darkness, attacks her in a gruesome fashion.
M3GAN must be a fan of Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead, because she uses a nail gun to subdue
the neighbor. Never one to do something halfway, she then proceeds to grab a pressure washer the
neighbor was seen using earlier. This is more than enough to fully put her down,
making for a gloriously disturbing sequence and a true showcase of how dangerous M3GAN can be.
Gemma's boss David, played by senior Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng,
provides comic relief throughout the film with his jerk tech mogul persona. It's a character
that in lesser hands could've been stock and annoying, but Chieng definitely makes the role
his own. This makes his eventual demise all the more disturbing and even a little bit hilarious,
a balance the film handles quite well. Following her now meme-worthy dance of doom,
Megan takes off in hot pursuit of David. Fortunately for him,
escape is in sight as the elevator at the end of the hall opens up with his assistant inside.
But the assistant, having been thoroughly mistreated by David throughout the film,
quickly begins pushing the elevator's "close" button. This allows M3GAN to
catch up and gruesomely dispatch David before turning her attention to the assistant. She
notes his mistreatment under David and how he'll make the perfect cover for this murder,
thinking three steps ahead as always. Both men's bodies are found in the elevator,
horrifying those in attendance for the unveiling and allowing M3GAN to hijack a car and ride off.
After some steady buildup,
M3GAN finally shows just how dangerous she can be when Cady is bothered by a bully during a
school trip. Upon being dropped off, one of the adults chaperoning notices M3GAN in the car and
asks what she is. After Gemma explains that she's a toy, Cady is allowed to keep M3GAN with her,
although she must be left with the other kids' toys and belongings. But soon enough,
Cady soon finds herself being abused by a rather nasty kid named Brandon, neither child aware
of the degree to which Cady's happiness and protection is M3GAN's main objective.
In a flash, M3GAN attacks Brandon and goes as far as to rip his ear off,
throwing it into the woods. Brandon runs and M3GAN gives chase, entering some
form of attack mode where she gets on all fours and pursues him like a wild animal.
"You should probably run."
M3GAN herself doesn't get to finish off Brandon, as in his escape he stumbles into the road where
he's then hit by a car. M3GAN then later informs Cady, in rather disturbing fashion,
that Brandon will not be going to heaven and that no one will ever hurt her again.
The closing moments of M3GAN truly
make for some of the film's most enthralling moments,
as the climax makes every second count. Upon arriving home, Gemma is confronted by M3GAN,
who firmly dispossesess any pretense of being friendly towards her. She even goes as far as
to say that Gemma "shouldn't be a mom," just as one last kick in the gut. Cady emerges to
see M3GAN attacking Gemma, finally seeing her robotic "friend" in all of her true
homicidal glory. This results in M3GAN's movements becoming more erratic and creepy.
After attacking Cady and Gemma, it seems that M3GAN is harder to put
down than a T-800. All joking aside, the parallels to The Terminator are blatant,
right down to M3GAN's human-like exterior slowly being eroded throughout the final fight. Just
as it seems like Gemma is doomed, Cady takes control of Bruce, Gemma's old prototype robot,
to begin whoopping M3GAN like a ragdoll. But even this isn't enough to put M3GAN
down for good, leaving Gemma to finish her off by plunging a screwdriver into M3GAN's "brain."