CUTTING EDGE
Time to put Annabelle away, as an A.I. BFF takes devil dolls to the next level…
Director Gerard Johnstone is pondering why dolls are so damn creepy, as evidenced in countless horror movies. “I’ve come across research on the uncanny valley, and how people react in a strange way when things are real but not real,” he starts. “And in Japanese culture, objects are almost respected as if they have a soul. I guess if you give anything a face, it comes to life.”
After slapping down an impressive calling card with horror-comedy Housebound, Johnstone is now getting into the creepy-doll business with M3GAN. The titular A.I. companion (short for Model 3 Generative Android) is created by roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams), and when her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), is orphaned by a car crash, Gemma presses a prototype M3GAN into service to comfort the grieving child. M3GAN is a loyal pal. Too loyal. In fact, she’ll do anything to protect Cady...
When Blumhouse Productions offered Johnstone the gig, he jumped at it. Like Housebound, M3GAN offered the chance to be scary in a fun, Friday-night kind of way. And perhaps even more importantly, Johnstone chimed with the material. “As a new dad, I just connected to it, in terms
of it being an allegory about parenting in the modern age,” he says. “All of a sudden, there are all of these devices. If the kids need attention, you can just give them an iPad or a phone. And it’s horrifying, because it’s not the childhood that we wanted for our children. And just to get through the day, we hand these things out.”
Judging from the trailer, M3GAN herself is a thrilling creation. Johnstone is not allowed to yet reveal how they achieved the effects – real kid, animatronics, CGI, a mix of all three? – though he does say it was a “multitiered approach”. Asked if child actor McGraw bonded with M3GAN on set, a la Drew Barrymore with E.T., he grins and says, “She did, but I would also say that she was relatively creeped out by M3GAN as well.”
It’s a safe bet it’ll be the same for viewers. The trailer certainly made an impact, with memes instantly circling of M3GAN’s astonishing dance scene. “It’s like Annabelle’s been Yassified!” was the cry, and a fitting one at that – James Wan, who introduced the Annabelle doll in The Conjuring before she got her own spin-off franchise, here produces and has a story credit.
“For M3GAN to so quickly be embraced, it was awesome,” chuckles Johnstone. “I see this movie as a suspense thriller, and a bit of a satire and commentary on our times. But also, I want it to be funny. The response has meant that everyone’s really comfortable with that. This movie’s going to be fun, twisted and odd!”
M3GAN OPENS IN CINEMAS ON 13 JANUARY.
‘I guess if you give anything a face, it comes to life’ GERARD JOHNSTONE