M3gan

The intelligence isn’t the only thing that feels artificial about M3gan, which involves a lifelike robotic doll that goes on a killing spree.

Dialing back the violence and gore that genre aficionados might crave, this predictably campy thriller feels engineered from spare parts in a lab, mildly amusing and occasionally frightening but lacking the thematic depth and moral complexity to resonate more deeply as a chilling cautionary tale.

The title character’s name is an acronym for Model 3 Generative Android, a prototype secretly created by Gemma (Allison Williams) and her coding team for a tech firm.

Meanwhile, Gemma takes custody of her precocious 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), after the youngster’s parents die in a car accident. Unsure how to raise her under such delicate emotional circumstances, Gemma realizes Cady might be the ideal guinea pig for M3gan as she works through some bugs.

Almost instantly, they form an inseparable bond as the protective M3gan offers the empathy and companionship Cady needs. But will the erratic humanoid drive a wedge between Cady and Gemma?

“I thought we were creating a tool to support parents, not replace them,” suggests a coworker (Jen Van Epps). However, Gemma ignores the obvious red flags and minor malfunctions as her employer prepares for the grand unveiling.

It’s an example of how the actual humans in the film behave conveniently rather than logically, with their naivete steering the narrative twists.

The science is cool, but the doll is creepy. Of course, the screenplay by Akela Cooper (Malignant) tackles how obsession with screen time, smart devices, and constant electronic stimulation erodes the ability to form genuine human connections.

Kiwi director Gerard Johnstone also sounds warnings about technology run amok, corporate greed, contemporary parenting, and marketing toward impressionable children. Yet not exploring such ideas with more insight or intricacy inhibits the suspense when things inevitably go awry or when the film wants to be taken more seriously.

There are some highlights, most notably a hilarious sequence where M3gan chases down and turns the tables on a bully in need of a serious comeuppance.

Still, M3gan winds up as a variation on the sort of robots-outsmarting-humans scenario we’ve seen countless times before, designed as an obvious franchise launchpad with a subversively clever concept yielding a mediocre payoff.

Rated PG-13, 102 minutes.