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M3GAN Blu-ray Review

“M3GAN” is a crowd pleasing horror film. 

Produced by James Blum of Blumhouse and the now legendary horror filmmaker James Wan , “M3GAN” brings forth a James Wan staple (creepy dolls) into a different realm. In this entry, a young girl (Cady) loses her parents and ends up living with her aunt (Gemma) who works as a roboticist at a fictional toy company named Funki. Gemma is secretly working on a new robotic doll that could change the toy industry codenamed M3GAN. Rather than bonding with Cady, Gemma essentially uses Cady as a guinea pig for the M3GAN doll which pairs with its owner. Cady becomes inseparable from the lifelike M3GAN who becomes increasingly protective over Cady to a dangerous degree. To say M3GAN begins to malfunction and become self-aware is an understatement.

Killer dolls and killer robots are certainly nothing new to the film world with films like “Child’s Play,” “Westworld,” “Deadly Friend,” “The Puppet Master,” and so on. Director Gerard Johnstone and writer Akela Cooper’s “M3GAN” doesn’t bring much new to the table with its cautionary story about technology taking over our lives. It also feels very much like a Hollywood horror film especially in the bloody, action heavy final act that feels like it’s straight out of “The Terminator.” If you can look past its standard horror conventions though you’ll find yourself getting swept up in this horror yarn. The film’s balance of camp and scares works in a decidedly entertaining fashion as M3GAN becomes more unhinged in her murderous rampage.

Speaking of M3GAN, Horror movies are only as good as their villains and M3GAN is certainly a memorable villain. Done with a combination of CGI, animatronic puppets, an actress who did physical movements (Amie Donald) and a voice actress (Jenna Davis), the titular A.I. star of the movie grabs your attention from the get go. Whether she’s dancing or killing, M3GAN carries the movie on her back.

In terms of the human characters, Allison Williams looks bored and is completely miscast as a roboticist. Violet McGraw delivers the film’s best performance here as Cady whose interactions with M3GAN really sell the movie as a whole.

Note: The Blu-ray contains the theatrical and unrated edition.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? The lack of a 4K release is puzzling given how popular the film was. Still, this Blu-ray transfer delivers and will undoubtedly please fans.

Audio Track: 7.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? From the robotic noises to the music, this 7.1 track is sharp.

Extras:
* DVD copy
* Digital copy
* “A New Vision Of Horror”- A behind-the-scenes featurette about the collaborative team’s take on this horror tale.
* “Bringing Life To M3GAN”- A look at the physical animatronic puppets.
* “Getting Hacked”- A look at the M3GAN stunts, fights, and dances by Amie Donald and the death scenes. 

March 14, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Blumhouse, Horror Movie, James Wan, Killer Doll, Killer Robot, M3GAN Blu-ray Review