Review: "M3gan" — a tale of a creepy robot doll — delivers some solid shocks, as well as drama and dark humor

Every few years we get a new variation on “Frankenstein,” a creepy cautionary tale about using technology to create a human-like being that can’t be controlled — and this year, that’s “M3gan,” a smart and slightly unhinged horror thriller about a woman, a girl and a doll who’s not to be trusted.

The girl is Cady (Violet McGraw), who at age 8 is orphaned when her parents are killed in a car crash in snowy Oregon. Cady is sent to live with her aunt, Gemma (Allison Williams), a workaholic robotics engineer for a major toy company in Seattle. Gemma is unprepared for instant guardian status, but tries to juggle caring for Cady with delivering an upgrade of her company’s Furby-like monstrosity for her demanding boss, David (played by comedian Ronny Chieng).

Behind David’s back, Gemma and her programming team, Tess (Jen Van Epps) and Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez), have been developing a new product — a super-smart robot in the form of a little girl. Gemma has named it the Model 3 Generative Android, or M3GAN for short. Gemma brings Cady to work one day, and finds that her niece has bonded with the robot, which soon becomes the girl’s new best friend.

M3gan also becomes Cady’s protector — a job she starts taking a little too seriously, which is where the mayhem and murder start.

Director Gerard Johnstone deploys the technical wizards of New Zealand’s Weta Workshop, to create a robot in M3gan who doesn’t leap over the Uncanny Valley — the zone where computerized characters become so lifelike that they’re creepy — so much as set up camp there. It’s a group effort, with child actor Amie Donald, voice actor Jenna Davis and a fair amount of puppetry combining to make M3gan a scarily precise depiction of a robot.

Williams (“Get Out”) gives a strong performance as the scientist who realizes she’s created a monster, and she has some moving moments with McGraw (who played the young version of Florence Pugh in “Black Widow”), navigating shared grief in between the action set pieces.

The stealth MVP here is screenwriter Akela Cooper, riding the high after writing the bat-crap crazy horror movie “Malignant” for director James Wan. Cooper (who shares story credit here with Wan) ratchets up the tension, while also delivering some genuine emotion between Gemma and Cady, as well as some spiky humor at the expense of Gemma’s boss and her annoying neighbor (Lori Dungey). Cooper makes “M3gan” more fun than a new toy.

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‘M3gan’

★★★

Opens Friday, January 6, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13 for violent content and terror, some strong language and a suggestive reference. Running time: 102 minutes.