If you go to the Halloween tab on the Peacock app, you’ll find this one prominently displayed. I had heard good things about this movie but that maybe that horror classification was a bit borderline. I’ve been wanting to watch this flick for a while but have been sitting on it since I knew the 31 days was coming up. Werewolves edged it out on day 1 because I’ve waited over a year to digest that nightmare. So in looking for what would be my second pick for October, this was a no brainer.
Right off the bat I’m going to go into what I like about this movie, because there is plenty. First off is that the original cast of survivors has returned. I do love some continuity in a franchise like this. I believe even the young lady who played M3GAN has returned. Don’t quote me on that and right now I’m just too lazy to even look it up. But the rest of the players are all back with a few new faces. What I like about a cast reprising their roles is that we know them now. We got through the first one and ironed out the kind of people they are so we aren’t still in that introductory phase. And most everyone does really hold true to their characters. I will say that Allison Williams, despite her super uptightness rearing it’s ugly head once again, is still more likable in this second installment. Her niece/daughter is a little more chill but she’s a moody teenager now so she wasn’t going to be totally likable anyways, but she’s not bad. The other two characters who made up the original murderous android building team, dude and lady (didn’t bother with names again, sorry) are also back. They support well as a supporting cast. They’re perfect for that. Dude has that plucky comedic relief on demand. He’s not goofy, which I appreciate. I don’t like when the funny guy is too much. This dude nails it in my book. The other lady is a great other lady. She chimes in every now and then and is sometimes in jeopardy and that’s important because you care. While that seems like a humorous dig at her character, it’s really not. In horror movies when I don’t have any affinity for a character, kill them off in the most fun way you can. I do not care. But I care about this lady. Just not enough to know her name. So this principle/supporting cast is great.
My next favorite thing about this movie is Jemaine Clement. Any time this guy shows up, I’m pretty much all for it. His range is not great, but I don’t need range from him. I want mainstream Jemaine every time. He can play a good bad guy. He can play a good dumb guy. He plays a fantastic dumb bad guy in this movie. My only complaint is that his sprinkling in on the story is that he’s not enough. Now, you do have to be careful. A little Jemaine goes a long way. But I still could have used more. His comedic presence is known on screen. It does detract from a real consistent horror tone but I think the shift away from a dark comedy horror like the first movie was is meant to soften the edges a bit more. I feel like this is the Aliens to Alien progression where the first one is clearly a horror movie and the second iteration, still featuring many of the same characters, morphs into more of a new kind of being. Aliens still had some similar horror elements to it’s predecessor but it leaned more heavily into the action portions of it’s makeup. 2.0 seems to beef up the comedy to soften the tone away from sinister and gravitate towards a more directed action kind of tone as well. This works well in attempting to move from M3GAN being the villain in the first film to a more likable anti-hero in the second. It’s kind of like if the T-800 was a sassy teenage girl. First movie she’s all murdery and the second movie she’s teamed up with the people she tried to murder in the first movie in order to save the world. So this movie is kind of like Terminator 2 and Aliens rolled into one. Plus there’s Jemaine Clement. So it’s all kinds of wonderful.
If I keep on that same wavelength, the Robert Patrick of this movie is the AI robot “Ameila”. I did learn her name. So that’s something. The story around her is actually well crafted and well executed. I’m not saying this is an Oscar contender by any means. But for a second iteration in a fledgling franchise like this to be as fun and entertaining while still teetering enough on the edge of horror to be this enjoyable is a huge bonus. While the comparison to T2 might be a little generous, I think for what M3GAN was in the first episode to come this far is worth noting. All of the moving pieces really come together cohesively to form a functioning story and film that holds your attention. This isn’t a blockbuster. It’s not some big budget Hollywood blowout. It may have even started as a cash grab on a Chucky reboot remake (follow that rabbit trail if you like) that featured a measure of success in it’s freshman outing. But this sophomoric entry is completely worth it’s salt in my opinion. The movie is fun and engaging. All the players fit their roles well and execute perfectly. The laughs break up the seriousness just enough to not tip it in any one direction. The whole showing is nothing but fun and I think that’s a brand that has grown in popularity in recent years when it comes to the horror genre. There’s always been the dark/black comedy installments of horror franchise. There’s the “so bad they’re good” B movies. There’s the endless sequels that eventually make their way to Manhattan or even space. The horror genre has expanded in so many directions and I’m happy to see that the “horror comedy” still really fits the bill.
I will reiterate that the horror part of this film does seem very loosely applied. I think the Aliens comparison is apt in that respect. In some circles, Aliens is a horror action. In other’s it’s just an action movie. The Predator franchise is one that’s always felt firmly established as an action franchise but it’s still given that “horror” tag on some occasions. I think the line get progressively blurred. There’s a lot of death in the movie, that’s not in short supply. And I know it’s still another evil robot on the run committing all the carnage. So in namesake it fits the bill, I suppose. But I do have a hard time considering any part of the movie even remotely “scary”. Not that it’s a prerequisite, per se. Shaun of the Dead isn’t ever really “scary” either. But they do put people in harms way in that traditional horror sense in the zombie comedy. This movie there’s just a pile of nameless bodies in a number of scenes. I’m not going to split hairs to define or not define this movie as a horror flick. That’s why I don’t make that determination myself. Peacock proudly displays this one in it’s Halloween section specifically. And there’s enough moving pieces that fit the mold so lets roll with it. I think it’s just incumbent upon me to notate that if you’re looking for any real scares, this might not be the best road to take. You’ll have a lot of fun. There’s some fantastic action sequences and there is plenty of grisly carnage. But don’t hold your breath for any jump scares or slowly building Hitchcockian terror.
All in all I have to give this one high marks. Right off the top of my head I give it an 8 without thinking. I had a ton of fun with it. Very enjoyable. The reports I got from others totally track so it seems like it’s got plenty of broad audience appeal. I dug it. It’s on my list of movies to pick up so it’s making the shelf. Anymore, with space at a premium on my physical media storage, finding your way to the wall is a real feat anymore. So I don’t want to undervalue this movie. Sure, I have others like “Shocker” that are on the shelf but I think if you’ve seen it, we can totally agree it’s definitely a so bad it’s good kind of spooky season treat. M3GAN 2.0 is a great follow up. They’ve left the door open to find their way into a trilogy. If the story is compelling and the cast returns to reprise once again, I have to say I’m in as well. I don’t think this particular franchise has a Freddy or Jason level gas in the tank. I think three flicks would be a perfect amount, should they find that reason to actually return once more. But I wholeheartedly endorse putting this one on this time of year. It’s a great way to ease yourself into the spooky season with a little fun from some familiar faces. That about does it for day 2. I’ll have to see what tomorrow holds in store. There’s plenty more out there that I have left to see. Come back for our third installment of 31 Days of Horror ’25 tomorrow. Until then, I’ll catch you on the flip side.
