M3GAN has become the highest-rated Blumhouse horror movie since their lauded 2017 film Get Out. The project – released in theaters on January 6, 2023 – was produced by The Conjuring and Insidious director James Wan, directed by Gerard Johnstone, and written by Akela Cooper. It stars Allison Williams as a young scientist who develops an AI doll named M3GAN to be a companion for her recently orphaned niece, only to discover that M3GAN's obsession with protecting the young girl can quickly turn deadly.
Now that the film is out, most major critics have published their reviews for M3GAN, allowing the Rotten Tomatoes score to settle at a comfortable 95 percent out of 108 reviews as of this writing. This means that the film is now eligible to be "Certified Fresh" - once any straggling reviews have been added - and the aggregator service is ready to make the announcement. It also makes the film the best-reviewed horror outing for Blumhouse since Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning film Get Out in 2017, which is "Certified Fresh" at 98 percent and recently earned the distinction of landing a place on the 2022 Sight & Sound film poll of the best films of all time.
What Other Blumhouse Horror Is In Their Top 10 On Rotten Tomatoes
M3GAN joins a troupe of modern Blumhouse horror classics in the company's Rotten Tomatoes Top 10. One of the other films in the Top 3, 2017's Creep 2, technically has a higher score than Get Out at 100 percent, but that is only out of 26 reviews. Hence, it is statistically insignificant when compared to the others despite still being a profound achievement. However, the rest of the films that fill out the Top 10 do so with less statistical confusions.
The rest of the list, in descending order, includes the 2016 home invasion thriller Hush at 93 percent, the 2019 Kiersey Clemons film Sweetheart at 93 percent, and Jordan Peele's Get Out follow-up Us at 93 percent. Wan's frequent screenwriting collaborator Leigh Whannell also landed a slot on the Top 10 with his 2020 directorial effort The Invisible Man at 92 percent. The rest of the esteemed list is completed by the original 2014 Creep at 90 percent, the 2022 country music thriller Torn Hearts at 89 percent, and the 2020 body swap slasher comedy Freaky at 83 percent.
Why Critics Are Loving M3GAN
M3GAN has shown an uncanny ability to propel itself forward to both critical and commercial success, an unusual feat for a horror film starring a killer doll. However, the film's commitment to delivering a campy horror met expectations and won over critics. Given the immense reception, the robotic M3GAN joins the pantheon of iconic evil dolls that became a game changer in the said concept, including Child's Play killer Chucky and Wan's own Annabelle from The Conjuring Universe.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes