When Universal and Blumhouses’ wild trailer for M3GAN dropped online, it immediately became a meme. It was pretty apparent we were in for a flick that would either be scary and a lot of fun or one of those “so bad it’s good” horror movies more suited for midnight screenings than for being critically well-received. There didn’t seem to be much room for any other possibility. Well, the film’s critical scores are finally hitting the interwebs, and it appears reviewers are embracing the movie, which tells the story of a killer AI doll better than one could have imagined. And, for a short time, its tomato score was even rivaling one of Universal/Blumhouse’s other collaborations, the award-winning Jordan Peele movie Get Out.
For better or worse, Rotten Tomatoes has become an essential source for determining how a movie’s being received by critics and fans alike. Aggregating reviews from across the web, users can either look at their favorite reviewer’s opinion or the Tomato Meter to see the aggregated view on a film. M3GAN debuted with an aggregated critical score of 98%, matching Get Out. As more reviews have come in, the flick has dropped slightly to 95%, but that is still an impressive score given that there are already over one hundred reviews counted.
Does a high critical score mean that M3GAN is one of the few perfect movies lacking any flaws? Absolutely not. However, it is telling that the movie is being appreciated by critics. Many have pointed out that the horror flick is “unapologetically silly” and is a rare instance of a horror comedy effectively working on both levels. It’s still to be seen if audiences will turn out for the movie and have a similar opinion to critics. But if the audience response is even remotely as positive as the critics, I would bet the already rumored sequel is probably a forgone conclusion. It appears we may very well have a horror villain on par with the likes of Chucky and Annabelle, and she’s probably here to stay.
The Rotten Tomatoes score is one of many commonalities between Get Out and M3GAN. Both movies also star the supremely talented Allison Williams. While Williams had a villainous hill turn in Jordan Peele’s horror directorial debut. In M3GAN, the actress plays a roboticist at a toy company that uses artificial intelligence to develop a life-like doll to bond with and protect her niece.
Only time will tell whether M3GAN will end up being one of the best horror movies of all time. Still, Jason Blum–whose production company Blumhouse teamed with James Wan for the horror flick–promised a motion picture with plenty of scares and black comedy. If the critical consensus is to be believed, that is precisely what the filmmakers have delivered.
M3GAN slashed her way into cinemas today, January 6th. Check your local listings to plan your trip to the theater. For all your other movie-going plans, check out our schedule of 2023 new movie releases.
