M3gan Unrated (2022) Review – A Campy and Viral Tech-Horror Delight

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at the Unrated Edition of M3gan.

Part horror, part social commentary, all fun

M3gan follows a toy designer, Gemma (Allison Williams), who invents the next big thing in the automated toy world: a lifelike, artificial intelligence dolly called M3gan. Giving the doll to her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), to trial, it isn’t long before the doll begins developing a mind of its own and causing havoc. We explained the ending to this movie so if you need answers, check out our M3gan Ending Explained article.

“Acting as something of a social commentary on people’s dependence on technology, M3gan pokes fun at a generation of people passing off parenting to digital devices.”

When choosing a director to helm M3gan, the producers wanted someone who could work effectively with black comedy. Hence Gerard Johnstone, the director of the fantastic Housebound, was brought on board. The move proved to be an inspired one as comedy plays a central theme in the movie. Acting as something of a social commentary on people’s dependence on technology, M3gan pokes fun at a generation of people passing off parenting to digital devices.

It is satirical and feels very apt given the current climate. I have mentioned in the past that horror’s need to act as social commentary is frustrating. I don’t understand how a genre dedicated to scaring people became so socially up tight. Horror movies feel like the wrong place to point out the complexities of the human condition. Still, in this case, it doesn’t detract too much from the enjoyment.

Horror for Gen Z

M3gan has apparently taken the TikTok world by storm. Scenes featuring her dancing are all over the net. This is very deliberate on the part of the production team. M3gan is very much aimed at a young crowd. This is clear from the get go. The younger members of Gen Z are the target here, though – the group that will copy the dances, share the videos, and cosplay the character.

It’s noteworthy how much of that is down to M3gan’s performer. M3gan was played by Amie Donald who is clearly a talented physical actor. Amie actually choreographed dances for the character and can be seen as absolutely instrumental in M3gan‘s viral success.

This does come at the cost of the scares and gore, though. Although addressed somewhat by the release of the gorier M3gan Unrated Edition, marketing a movie towards 13-18 year olds means this is a horror without teeth. Though M3gan features some moments of mild tension, there are no scares and little is done with the character to make her threatening.

“Marketing a movie towards 13-18 year olds means this is a horror without teeth. Though M3gan features some moments of mild tension, there are no real scares.”

M3gan has all of the attitude of Chucky with little of the blood lust. With that in mind, this is not a movie for all horror fans. Still it is action packed, often very witty, and simply a whole lot of fun. This is a movie that is light enough to be enjoyed by anyone, even if it can make you feel a bit old at times.

Decent acting

Acting here is generally decent. Allison Williams, as Gemma, is fine for the most part. I felt as though she really lacked the ability to convey emotion, though. Scenes where she was talking to Cady often lacked gravity. This is particularly true when Cady is upset over her parent’s death. She handled comedic moments well, though, and is likeable.

Violet McGraw does great as Cady. Her interactions with M3gan are entirely convincing. She is very believable when talking about her character’s feelings too. A stellar performance for such a young actor. Side characters are all competent but not really worthy of note.

Jenna Davis provided the voice for M3gan and was entirely fitting in the role. She clearly totally understood the way the character was intended to come across. It is very reminiscent of the type of voice you would hear on Saturday morning Kid’s TV. Special mention has to go to Amie Donald for her physical performance as M3gan. As mentioned above, she performed stunts, choreographed dances and is generally wonderful.

It’s a bit long and full of logic leaps

M3gan is not without its faults. It is a typical horror trope but the characters here are pretty dumb. Many of the set ups to scares require serious leaps of logic. There are plenty of head scratching moments. This is common with movies like this but bears mention. The movie is entirely predictable, as well. There are no surprises. You will see everything coming from a mile off which is somewhat disappointing.

“M3gan is a fun villain and the movie represents a great attempt at Child’s Play for the Zoomer generation. It is action packed, often very witty, and simply a whole lot of fun.”

The 102 minute runtime is a little bit too long, especially given the movie’s intended audience. It also drags quite a bit in the middle. The family drama and social commentary aspects come at the cost of added dialogue, much of which feels fairly redundant, especially when you just want to get to the freaky robot girl going crazy.

Again, the lack of gore is a problem. M3gan was severely cut down to hit the PG-13 rating. Much like The Invitation, M3gan suffers for this. M3gan Unrated Edition does help a little in this department. The added gore and brutality helps but accounts for less than a minute of content. It’s really not quite enough to overcome the lack of violence fans might expect. As it stands, this is a movie with few scares but enough action to stay interesting.

The unrated differences?

The first thing you will notice with the unrated edition is a lot more swearing. Obviously it takes awhile to get to the violence here. With M3gan Unrated Edition, the F-bombs come a lot thicker and a lot faster. Gemma’s boss, David, is noteworthy for this. I loved his character in the standard version but his potty mouth makes him all the funnier — or all the more unlikable as the case may be. 

The best part about M3gan‘s Unrated Edition are the enhanced kill scenes. One that was already, rather, nasty looking is even nastier in M3gan Unrated. Let’s just say, certain parts of the body shouldn’t stretch in the way they do here. A number of M3gan‘s other kills are more graphic, too. One of which was particularly noteworthy for how painful it looked. Another focuses on what is taking place rather than cutting away as it does in the PG-13 version. 

It’s mere seconds of added content. Not really anything to write home about but it does give the film some extra bite. Again, I wouldn’t suggest sitting through the movie again unless you were already planning to. The changes are just not that significant. Still, M3gan Unrated Edition is a welcome option for older fans and people who felt M3gan was a bit too tame.

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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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