The horror film M3gan – and its namesake demon doll – has charmed critics and packed movie theaters, earning $30.4mon its opening weekend. The film’s trailer, which went viral last fall for a scene which shows the robot pausing, mid-kill, to try out a TikTok dance, proved that M3gan is a villain made for memes. But it’s not all bloodthirsty fun: the movie raises questions about parenting and digitized playtime.
A quick summary, with light spoilers: M3gan is a robot doll who can do just about anything (walk, talk, twerk, murder). She’s created by Gemma (Allison Williams), a work-obsessed roboticist who suddenly has to care for her orphaned niece Cady. At first, M3gan is a hit: Gemma’s bosses at a Hasbro-esque toy company tout her as the Tesla of dolls. She and Cady become inseparable. Then M3gan gets too smart.
