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M3GAN (2023) KILL COUNT is the four hundred and thirty-fourth video of The Kill Count.
Overview[]
After her parents are killed in a car accident, eight-year-old Cady is sent to live with her aunt Gemma, a roboticist at the high-tech Seattle toy company, Funki. Gemma is covertly using the company's resources to develop M3GAN (Model 3 Generative Android), a child-sized humanoid robot doll powered by artificial intelligence, designed to be the ultimate companion for children. During an unsuccessful test of M3GAN in their lab, Gemma's boss, David, discovers the project and orders her to discontinue work on it. Gemma and Cady struggle to connect until Cady comes across Bruce, a motion capture robot that Gemma had created at college. Watching Cady with Bruce, Gemma is motivated to complete M3GAN.
When the prototype M3GAN is formally paired with Cady, David is convinced of the project's potential for success. M3GAN exceeds expectations and begins to take on a parental role. Gemma's colleagues, Tess and Cole, as well as Cady's therapist, Lydia, become concerned about Cady developing an unhealthy emotional attachment to M3GAN. M3GAN starts operating more independently and targets anything that she deems a threat to Cady: she kills Dewey, the dog of Gemma's neighbor Celia, after it attacks both her and Cady while in the front yard. Later, M3GAN attacks Brandon, a boy bullying Cady, and pulls off his ear; when she chases him, he falls into the road and is run over by a passing car.
After Celia blames Gemma for Dewey's disappearance, M3GAN fatally sprays her with insecticide after shooting her with a nail gun. Gemma becomes suspicious of M3GAN and attempts to check her video logs, only to find the files corrupted or deleted. Gemma powers M3GAN off and brings her to the lab, where she, Tess, and Cole attempt to fix her. Cady becomes distraught when separated from M3GAN and slaps Gemma. Gemma apologizes for her inattentiveness and tells Cady that M3GAN is only a distraction that helps her cope with her loss, not a solution.
After watching M3GAN with Cady, Funki's investors greenlight M3GAN's release. Recognizing the risk she poses, Gemma, Tess, and Cole decide to terminate M3GAN. Tess and Cole attempt to shut M3GAN down while Gemma takes Cady home; M3GAN activates on her own and nearly hangs Cole. While Tess saves Cole, M3GAN causes an explosion in their lab, knocking them out. Before exiting the building, M3GAN kills David and his assistant Kurt in an elevator, staging it as a murder–suicide. She steals a car and drives back to Gemma's house.
M3GAN confronts Gemma, adamant about taking over as Cady's sole parent. Gemma attempts to stop M3GAN, damaging and disfiguring her in the process, but M3GAN ultimately overpowers her. Cady saves Gemma, using Bruce to tear M3GAN apart, but M3GAN's top half remains active and attacks Cady. Gemma exposes a processing chip in M3GAN's head, which Cady stabs with a screwdriver, seemingly destroying M3GAN. However, as Gemma and Cady exit the home, Gemma's AI home device turns on by itself, and a camera looks towards them.
Deaths[]
Counted Deaths[]
- Ryan - Struck by snowplow - 3 mins in
- Nicole - Struck by snowplow - 3 mins in
- Brandon - Ear ripped off, hit by car - 56 mins in
- Celia - Face power washed away - 1 hr 3 mins in
- David - Paper cutter blade through the back - 1 hr 19 mins in
- Kurt - Throat slit w/ paper cutter blade - 1 hr 20 mins in
- MΞGAN - Ripped in half, screwdriver to the processor - 1 hr 32 mins in
Non-Counted Deaths[]
- Dewey the Dog - Yanked by MΞGAN
- Opening Scene Dog - Died of old age
Trivia[]
- In the 2024 Dead Meat Horror Awards, this film was nominated for:
- Best Stunts or Choreography
- Best Digital Effects
- Best Practical Effects
- Best Original Film
- Best Director (Gerard Johnstone)
- Best Villain
- M3GAN won the category for Best Villain.
- This is Violet McGraw's second appearance on the Kill Count with the first being Violet Hansen in Doctor Sleep.
- This is Allison Williams's second appearance on the Kill Count, with the first being Rose Armitage in Get Out.