Not a robot so much as a hi-tech Frankenstein’s monster, stitched together with bits of Robocop and Terminator, but cheekily enjoyable just the same. This is a sci-fi chiller co-written by horror experts Akela Cooper and James Wan and directed by Gerard Johnstone. M3gan, or Model 3 Generative Android, is an eerily self-possessed blond tweenage girlbot, voiced by Jenna Davis, a state-of-the-art toy from the near future developed as a personal passion project by engineer Gemma (Allison Williams, from Get Out and HBO’s Girls) to the exasperation of her highly stressed boss David, amusingly played by Ronny Chieng. RELATED: 'M3GAN' composer Anthony Willis breaks down his 'hypnotic tech-wonder' score for new horror classic

It’s MEGAN’s world,we’re just living in it. The first major release of 2023 came in the form of an android with a murderous streak. After the theatrical run concludes, when will M3GANbe out on Blu-ray and DVD?M3GAN stars Allison Williams ( Get Out) as Gemma, a toy company roboticist who makes the mistake of pairing her eight-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), with a machine capable of thinking — and killing — for itself. Ronny Chieng ( Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Brian Jordan Alvarez ( Will & Grace), Jen Van Epps ( Cowboy Bebop), Lori Dungey ( The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, extended edition), and Stephane Garneau-Monten ( Straight Forward) round out the principal cast. Making it PG-13 was something that happened after the fact, but it was always so close to PG-13, anyway. It seemed kind of a mistake not to embrace it," he explained. I even remember thinking early on, 'This could be PG-13, and some of my favorite films like Drag Me to Hell are PG-13.' So we made the decision to go PG-13 and actually reshot a couple of things. What I was really stoked about is that when we reshot those scenes, they were more effective. It's like 'Yes, you do have to cut away at certain times' but it's fun having to rely on sound and suggestion so much."

Derivative though M3gan undoubtedly is – with creepy fake toy TV ads that are a ripoff-homage to Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop, and a freakout finale that references James Cameron’s android meisterwerk – there are some adroit satirical touches about dolls as toxic aspirational templates, dolls as parodies of intimacy and sensitivity and tech itself as sinister child-pacification, with kids given iPads the way Victorian children were given alcoholic gripe water. It is funny when M3gan sings Titanium to Cady as a lullaby, but is then capable of switching to snarling rage, and Chieng is good value. A entertainingly nasty film for the new year. A New Vision of Horror — Filmmakers and cast break down how the world of M3GAN was created, including the initial idea, through production under the leadership of director Gerard Johnstone No shade to Universal, love them, and I understand that once the trailer went viral, teenagers got involved and you want them to be able to see it," screenwriter Akela Cooper said last month. "There should be an unrated version at some point. ... I heard it is on the books. But yes, it was way gorier ... Her body count in the script was higher than in the movie." Gemma (played by Allison Williams) is a geniusroboticist for a technologically advanced toy company, Funki. Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) after a tragic accident kills her parents. Unsure of how to handle this newfound responsibility, Gemma turns to her project, MEGAN, for help. Gemma is a brilliant AI robotics engineer who designs a realistic doll that is programmed to be "a little boy's best friend." She calls her new creation M3GAN. Then when Gemma unexpectedly gains custody of her niece, Cady, she decides to use a prototype of M3GAN to help with new parenting duties. Unfortunately, things start to go horribly wrong as the AI programming of M3GAN turns out to have a "killer instinct." M3GAN has other weird quirks as well, such as a love of dancing and a constant desire to cause trouble which often turns violent.Bringing Life to M3GAN — See how animatronics, puppets, and actor Amie Donald helped make M3GAN as real as possible

M3GAN, orModel 3 Generative Android, is an artificially intelligent lifelike doll developed by Gemma. The android was designed to be a child’s best friend and loyal companion, especially when caretakers like Gemma need help. At first, MEGAN is a huge success, bonding with Cady and doing exactly what Gemma set out for it to do. However, M3GAN soon develops a violent streak when she becomes overprotective of Cady, leading to tragic consequences.

The film ultimately went through a number of reshoots to nab a PG-13 rating for its theatrical rollout, but director Gerard Johnstone felt that the sinister implication of violence (as opposed to showing it outright) made the thing much scarier as a result.