The Light cinema, Addlestone are screening the highly anticipated ‘M3GAN’, a tale of horror (and marginal comedy in the eyes of a viewer). The story follows Cady, a nine-year-old year who moves in with her tech-obsessed Aunt Gemma after the tragic death of her parents. Struggling to connect emotionally with Cady, Gemma builds her niece her very own robotic friend who is programmed to spontaneously respond just as a real girl would. Her name, M3GAN.

The story was advertised as horror, and whilst M3GAN’s homicidal acts certainly caused a few jump scares, stifled giggles could also be heard about the cinema in certain darkly humorous scenes, especially in the now viral dance scene in which M3GAN sways her arms to and fro and performs an unexpected front flip to upbeat music before committing yet another murder. This strange mix of dark horror conventions and cheesy undertones lifted the intensity of M3GAN’s evilness, and helped make the somewhat unrealistic idea of a robotic doll being a serial killer seem as though the movie was pointing fun as its own absurdity.

The film felt rather reminiscent of Holland’s ‘Child’s Play’ (1989), especially in its dark slapstick elements which were highly conventional of films of the 1980s. Such intertextuality helped to slightly alleviate the tension in the room in regards to the ominous murder scenes, with knowledge of the cringe-worthy context of 1980s films. But, of course, the creepy doll that comes to life never fails to have audiences hiding behind their popcorn (I know I was!)

Nabihah Abedin, a fellow audience member and friend, shared her thoughts on the film: ‘I found the plot quite overdone’ she states, ‘but it was still entertaining and tense.’

All in all, despite its somewhat unbelievable plotline and its strange comical mix of horror and humour, the film had me riveted throughout (my attention usual drifts from a film) and so it was certainly worth the watch. As someone who is mightily afraid of horror movies, I must admit I rarely felt frightened throughout, so I would highly recommend to anyone who is the same!