The horror genre has been experiencing a renaissance for a number of years now, to the joy of moviegoers. These movies also stand out for their huge financial potential, often running on a smaller budget. That includes the best horror movies returning with new sequels, as well as totally original properties. Gerard Johnstone's M3gan is in the latter category, and is one of the first movies of the year. And it's been a critical darling as well as a box office hit. The horror flick first turned heads thanks to the viral trailer, which included the titular robot dancing. And after finally seeing her in action, there are 5 super meme-able moments (besides that iconic dance).
Getting the general public invested in a movie can be a tricky job, and largely is up to the marketing of each new project. M3gan's has been killer (no pun intended), footage being made into memes, and the movie's official Twitter having A+ content. And aside from the viral dance scene, there are a few moments that I think will end up making the rounds online as a meme or reaction GIF. They go as follows:
The test dummy's stank face.
One of the first big laughs in M3gan's 102-minute runtime comes as Allison Williams' Gemma is testing a prototype of the titular robot. During the presentation for her boss David (Ronny Chieng), things do not go as planned, and she's asked to abandon the project altogether.
That test of M3gan's prototype goes wrong for a few reasons, with one of the glitches ultimately being her facial expression. The robot ends up doing a hilarious stank face that seems like it's basically begging to be used in memes and as reactions on social media. Give us the footage, Universal!
M3gan embodies Regina George
Pretty early into M3gan, she bonds with Gemma's niece Cady (Violet McGraw) who loses both of her parents in the movie's opening sequence. On top of helping Gemma's career, she imprints the doll to Cady to help be her companion during this time of isolation and change. And their interactions make for some of the most hilarious and creepy moments that have audiences cackling.
One such interaction happens pretty early in, with M3gan saying to Cady "Oh I love that jacket, where did you get it?" On top of being a bizarre interaction between those two characters, it also felt like a deliberate reference to one of Rachel McAdams' lines from Mean Girls. M3gan goes full Regina George in this scene, in yet another thoroughly meme-able moments from the new horror comedy. Add in that Lindsay Lohan's character is also named Cady, and it's all even more rife for circulation online.
M3gan is a coaster champion for all of us.
In the first half of M3gan, Allison Williams' Gemma is guilty of letting her invention do the heavy lifting of parenting her young niece. This ends up being one of the moral dilemmas of the movie, and eventually the their connection gets dangerous. But it all starts off with small things, like the usage of coasters.
For many of us out there (myself included) coasters are non-negotiable in order to protect furniture. One of M3gan's first lessons to Cady is making sure she uses them, creepily explaining the science behind condensation in the process. It's a great running gag in the movie's first act, and I can just imagine GIFs of the title character sliding a coaster under a glass going viral. Because in that moment she was all of our champion.
Singing "Titanium."
While the M3gan dance is perhaps the movie's most viral moment, there's some close competition that's been getting chatter online. Namely the scene where M3gan sings David Guetta's song "Titanium" to Cady as a lullaby, with the lyrics feeling hilariously appropriate. And given just how many tweets have circulated online about that scene, the memes are already coming.
The new cover of "Titanium" from M3gan's soundtrack is currently available to stream, further helping the new horror movie become a viral sensation. Smart money says a clip from that scene will arrive on social media soon, possibly inspiring moviegoers to return to theaters for a re-watch. Cha ching.
M3gan's one-liners in Act 3
Of course, things get action-packed in M3gan's third act. While it's violence and gore is tampered down thanks to its PG-13 rating, it's still a fun finale that mixes elements of horror and comedy. The latter occurs mostly thanks to one-liners that M3gan yells at both Gemma and Cady throughout this battle.
Once M3gan decides to make herself her own primary focus, she tried to take out both Gemma and Cady. During this time a number of meme-able moments occur, as she curses and calls the young girl am "ungrateful little bitch." And once that footage is widely available online, smart money says GIFs of these lines are going to be used regularly.
Of course, the viral dance that first appeared in M3gan and made the movie go viral is included in the theatrical cut, and is a delightfully twisted moment of its runtime. Unfortunately for fans who wanted more footage, it's not all that much longer than what we see in the trailer, but that doesn't make is any less fun. Because shortly after busting a move after breaking bad, she takes a paper cutter and chases down Gemma' boss.
While M3gan's violence isn't super thrilling thanks to its more tame rating, it almost doesn't need it. Namely because the movie's quick runtime is buoyed by a steady stream of jokes. And therefore, it really does seem like the perfect fodder for the internet to take and roll with. We've seen how Octavia Spencer's Ma continues to be a meme sensation years after its release, and it certainly seems like M3gan has the potential to follow suit. The movie equal parts horror and bonkers comedy, which has the potential to make it a real fan-favorite moving forward. We'll just have to wait and see if we're treated to a sequel.
M3gan is in theaters now, and having a strong showing at the box office. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
