M3GAN

Allison Williams' aunt Gemma, having become the scatterbrained guardian to a child whose parents were recently pulverised in a car accident, does what any mechanical genius would do: she builds a fussy little robot to take care of the kid. Gerard Johnstone's M3GAN, written by Akela Cooper with James Wan sharing a story credit, is a pleasant remix of your standard supertoy tale, thanks mostly to the lightly atypical characterisation being applied to the artificial person and its creator. Aunt Gemma really cannot find time in her busy schedule for this bereaved child. Even more crushingly, this neglect isn't driven by malice or strange jealousies, Gemma is just completely unable to disconnect from work, using any distraction she can to keep orphan Cady (Violet McGraw) occupied and, more importantly, quiet. Any nagging concerns about the child's prolonged screentime, voiced by Cady's ill-fated mother in the early goings, aren't even on Gemma's radar.

Even before the doll turns homicidal, and is thereby operating (arguably) under her own initiative, there are notes of open disapproval from the diminutive robot directed towards the distracted Aunt Gemma. M3GAN (voiced by Jenna Davis and physically inhabited by Amie Donald) interrupts and corrects her creator, offering amendments before she is tersely ordered to power down and let the adult apply the kind of quick fix that only benefits one party. Although obviously not taking place within a story where these growing tensions will be dramatically exploited, it's fun seeing brief flashes of a plastic know-it-all twisting its face in horror whenever the story's nominated adult happily stunts her charge's growth. Kill's wise M3GAN tends to hold back - presumably for a lower theatrical rating - aside from the murder of a nosey neighbour, where the artificial babysitter uses a high-pressure hose to wash the lady's face and scalp off. Instead of bloody mayhem, Johnstone's film prefers to delight in the comedy generated by a ruthless little android, dressed in a pussy-bow and ballet flats, running rings around tech savvy dimwits.