What better way to kick off 2023’s horror slate than by capturing the essence of Chucky and thrusting it into the creative playground that is our late-stage capitalist technological hellscape?
If you’re horror icon James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring universe) or high-profile producer Jason Blum (The Black Phone, The Invisible Man, Halloween Ends), nary a better way seems to exist, as that’s exactly what this duo have done in the form of M3GAN, the upcoming sci-fi horror that just launched its first trailer.
M3GAN follows the plight of Gemma, a roboticist at a massive toy corporation who designs a doll named M3GAN, whose artificial intelligence allows it to behave as a child’s companion, teacher, and protector with confoundingly life-like proficiency. When Gemma’s nice Cady suddenly finds herself orphaned, Gemma takes it upon herself to care for her; a task that she finds herself woefully out of her depth in. She eventually decides to pair Cady with M3GAN to ease the pressure on her newfound parenting duties, and while M3GAN takes a liking to Cady, vowing to protect her and keep her happy at any cost, said costs start to involve some gruesome bloodshed.
It looks to be the result of a horror fan’s dream team, with Wan conceiving the story for the Gerard Johnstone directorial effort, and Allison Williams (Get Out) starring as Gemma alongside Violet McGraw (The Haunting of Hill House) as Cady, all wrapped up in a delectable-looking trailer that promises to pick at our greatest fears surrounding technology, responsibility, and loneliness.
M3GAN will release in theaters on Jan. 13, 2023.