“M3GAN”: The first theatrical horror release of the year hits hard

This weekend was the theatrical release in many countries of the science-fiction and horror thriller M3GAN (2022). Developed by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions and James Wan’s Atomic Monster Productions, in addition to Divide/Conquer, the movie reached number 2 of the highest-grossing films of the weekend in the USA market only behind Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). Magnificent numbers for a horror movie on the first weekend of the year, traditionally a doomed weekend for new theatrical releases.

The movie is the new feature film of director Gerard Johnstone, who achieved big popularity and a bunch of awards and nominations with his debut horror and comedy title Housebound (2014). The screenplay from the movie was written by Akela Cooper, known for the scripts for some episodes in American Horror Story (2011– ), Grimm (2011–2017), and Witches of East End (2013–2014), and the horror movies Hell Fest (2018), and Malignant (2021), and was based on a story she wrote together with James Wan.

In M3GAN (2022), a young woman, unsure and unprepared to be a parent, becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady. Under intense pressure at work, she decides to pair her M3GAN (short for Model 3 Generative ANdroid) prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems, a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.

The creepy anroid M3GAN is played by the debutant Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis. The main cast also includes Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Ronny Chieng, Stephane Garneau-Monten, Lori Dungey, and Amy Usherwood.

The movie achieved an approval rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes where it was mentioned as “unapologetically silly and all the more entertaining for it, M3GAN (2022) is the rare horror-comedy that delivers chuckles as effortlessly as chills“.

M3GAN (2022) is Rated PG-13 for violent content and terror, some strong language, and a suggestive reference. The movie is scheduled for a release in other countries like Germany, Australia, Denmark, Hungary, Portugal, Finland, Ireland, India, and the UK on January 12, 2023. Watch its official trailer here.