SPOILER WARNING: The following article may contain a few light spoilers from M3GAN. If you have not yet seen the sci-fi thriller, proceed as you should when using any new piece of technology: with caution.
Being a lover of horror, science fiction, and technophobic satire – the last of which I have acknowledged numerous times, such as in my reaction to 2025’s Companion – you might assume I was first in line to see M3GAN in early 2023 and that the sequel is one of my most eagerly anticipated upcoming 2025 movies. While I am certainly looking forward to M3GAN 2.0, which hits theaters June 27, I only saw the original for the first time just a few days before writing this article.
So, how did this technophobic horror/sci-fi fan enjoy the thriller about a “life-like” AI-powered doll gone haywire? Quite a bit (granted, I went with the more extreme unrated version), but I might have an unpopular opinion about the eponymous killer robot in that, aside from her admittedly creepy artificial face, she was not what scared me about the film the most. Allow me to explain…
The Purrpetual Petz Are The Most Grotesque Fake Toys I Have Ever Seen
M3GAN gave me all I needed to cower in fear within its first 60 seconds with an intriguing fake commercial for a line of toys called Purrpetual Petz. They are meant to serve as an everlasting replacement for common domestic animals, but instead of resembling a dog or cat, they kind of look like an old clump of hair with chattering teeth and the eyes of a meth addict glued onto it. In his M3GAN review, Eric Eisenberg calls the titular robot an “uncanny valley nightmare, depending on your perspective,” but I’d say she looks angelic compared to these ugly-lookin’ things.
However, these twisted child’s playthings do not only creep me out in appearance, but also in concept. The Purrpetual Petz ad demonstrates that many of the toy’s features are controlled with a phone or tablet app, reflecting a trend in today’s toy industry that has become just a little too common for my taste, and the following scene, showing a distracted Cady (then 11-year-old Violet McGraw, who was paid nicely for her role), spells out why. Call me old-fashioned, but I would prefer not to provide my child with a toy that requires an expensive third-party device to enjoy it.
The Purrpetual Petz Should Have Their Own Movie
I think that M3GAN 2.0’s Terminator 2-inspired plot is certainly a cool idea. However, am I the only one who thinks the upcoming Blumhouse movie could have been even better and, maybe, even scarier if the Purrpetual Petz came back as the villains this time instead?
Better yet, why not give the terrifying toys a whole movie of their own? I can see it now: some demented hacker changes their programming, turning them into killer furballs from hell! It would be like a modern, high-tech take on the horror-comedy movie classic, Gremlins.
There is nothing stopping Blumhouse from going through with this idea, considering they already have a M3GAN spin-off in the works called SOULM8TE. I cannot think of a better way to further expand on this horror hit’s universe than by giving its most potent source of nightmare fuel a true shot at gory glory.