‘MEGAN’ hits theaters with bang

MEGAN+hits+theaters+with+bang

Bailee Clifton, Staff Writer

     “MEGAN,” originally set to hit theaters Jan. 13, was expected to meet high standards after it was announced that Blumhouse, one of the most influential horror production companies, would be producing alongside James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring). The movie definitely lived up to its high expectations.

     Gemma, played by Allison Williams, works as a roboticist who creates toys at Funki, a fictional toy company. She had been working on a life-like doll when she gains custody of her niece Cady, played by 11-year-old Violet McGraw, whose situation sparks her to finish the project. Once MEGAN is “paired” with Cady, she protects her, no matter the circumstance. 

     With the official trailer sitting at 23 million views on Youtube alone, it’s no wonder the release was moved up by a week. The movie was released in Los Angeles Dec. 7, 2022. With a budget of only $12 million for production and promotion, the film has made a whopping $45 million at the box office in its opening weekend, nearly $25 million more than projected. It has also earned a 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. 

     “Just like pure delight, it felt like we just won the movie lottery because the internet can be, in general, a place of hate,” director Gerard Johnstone said in an interview with Karla Rodriguez of Complex. “So to see this big outpouring of love, it was just very, very special¨.

     Akela Cooper, screenwriter, had actually written the movie to be way gorier, but dialed it back a notch for unspecified reasons. The theme that toys and technology can take over someone’s childhood and become “evil” while not new is well done. MEGAN literally becomes evil and starts to commit various murders.

     Director Gerard Johnstone (“MEGAN” and “Housebound”) is a relatively new director, having only two films under his belt. Johnstone was chosen to direct because of his ability to capture black comedy, “a film, play, or other work that deals with tragic or distressing subject matter in a humorous way” according to Oxford Languages. His debut film ¨Housebound¨ was along the same genre, containing supernatural elements like evil spirits and a creepy atmosphere. His only known weakness as a director is that he only has a small amount of experience compared to others. However, this also speaks volumes on his talent given his short time in the industry.

     Williams was also an executive producer.

     From a technical perspective, the music kept with the time period and wasn’t too outdated, and the cinematography was amazing in my opinion. The costuming for M3GAN was decent at best and kept with the fact that the life-sized doll was supposed to be adaptable. The editing contained a lot of CGI, computer-generated imagery, which not everyone can pull off. 

     Two actors were responsible for the title role. Jenna Davis, voice of MEGAN, and Amie Donald, on-screen actor, had what could be considered the hardest scenes of the film, consisting of running backwards on all fours and the robotic movements in Gemma’s near death scene.

     Other actors included Brian Jordan Alvarez, who plays Gemma´s coworker Cole, has had many roles in self- produced films, along with his recurring role as Estèfan in Will and Grace.  Tess, Gemma´s other coworker, portrayed by Jen Brown, held a role in Nickelodeon’s Power Rangers

     The film was surprising to say the least. Yes, it had horror aspects as advertised, but some scenes were quite unexpected. The time and dedication that it takes to make a film like this is definitely shown in how well it was executed. It’s definitely worth a watch if for those whose stomach doesn’t turn easily, as there are very vivid, brutal scenes.