So I finally took a look at the Blumhouse horror M3GAN, and was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed a couple of the themes at work in it, the actual need for physical interaction, to get away from apps, screens and interact with those around you. Sure, the climax, and scenes leading up to it, go a little sideways, I mean has no one heard of Asimov’s Laws of Robotics? But I get the fact that viewers really would want a payoff of this little girl android going around slaughtering those who would stop her from taking her place in the world.

There is commentary about the interconnectedness of smart technology, and the idea that it could be a threat, but the main crux of the story is about human connections, and maybe keeping manufactured intelligence at a safe arm’s length instead of right there in every aspect of our life.

Toy/computer designer Gemma (Allison Williams) finds herself the guardian of Cady (Violet McGraw) when Cady’s parents are killed in a car accident during a snowstorm. Gemma isn’t ready to be an emotionally available mother, as demonstrated by her home, and her work. She’s interested in designing an interactive toy, that could almost stand in as a caretaker.

She works for Funki, and instead of working on the newest iteration of what looks like a super-intelligent Furby, she’s been working on an android, a toy with a $10,000 price tag that pairs with the child, interacts with it, minding it, freeing up parents to do the things that really matter (think that part of the message is there?).

To help Cady with her loss, she pairs the young girl with M3GAN (Amie Donald) and the little girl forms a real connection with the android whose primary programming is to safeguard Cady’s physical and emotional health and keep her from any harm.

Can you see this warming up?

Of course, things go wrong, and M3GAN has access to all manner of information, and has no concerns over hurting those who hurt Cady, no matter who they are.

Gemma’s character is very much about her work, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but she’s consequently set aside any real emotional connection, which is something she has to amend with Cady before the story’s end.

Definitely not as gory as the film could have been, it is fairly enjoyable and raises some interesting questions before things fall apart in the final acts of the film, where it just devolves into a killer doll on the loose.

I quite like the pairing of Williams and McGraw, and Williams is believable as a career woman who finds herself unexpectedly saddled with a familial responsibility and how she struggles to make it work. I like the first half of the film and the themes at work there a lot, I’m just sorry it bottomed out in the second half, bringing it to the level of popcorn entertainment instead of bringing the big ideas and scares that could have been worked into it.