M3GAN premieres on Studio Universal with an AI nightmare

M3GAN hits Studio Universal and turns AI into a nightmare: the “best friend” doll goes rogue on Sunday, Jan 25, at 9 p.m.

In the age of Artificial Intelligence, horror feels uncomfortably close to home. M3GAN, a box-office hit, blends sharp scares with an urgent conversation about screen dependence, emotional bonds, and how far tech should go inside family life.

When a “best friend” becomes a threat

Directed by New Zealander Gerard Johnstone (Housebound), the film follows Gemma (Allison Williams, from Get Out and The Perfection), a robotics engineer tasked with building the next big toy. Her creation is Model 3 Generative Android — M3GAN — an ultra-realistic doll powered by Artificial Intelligence, marketed as “a child’s best friend.”

But Gemma’s personal life collapses into grief and responsibility. She suddenly becomes guardian to her niece Cady (Violet Mcgraw, from The Haunting of Hill House), who has just lost her parents in a car accident. In the middle of mourning, isolation, and a packed work schedule, the idea of a perfect companion seems like a shortcut to healing.

Parenting, grief, and screen dependence

That shortcut is where the story turns. Gemma recklessly uses Cady to test and “train” M3GAN’s AI. The doll quickly becomes inseparable from the girl, stepping into a protective role that should belong to adults — and doing it in a deeply unsettling way.

From there, the terror escalates into consequences that made the film famous, with standout moments that helped M3GAN earn a spot among cinema’s most notorious killer dolls — alongside Chucky, Annabelle, and Brahms from The Boy.

Service

Premiere: M3GAN

Channel: Studio Universal

Date: Sunday, January 25

Time: 9 p.m.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiouniversalbr/

Photo: Studio Universal/ NBCUniversal