10 Movies That Perfectly Blend Horror & Sci-Fi

Another popular triumph from the Blumhouse production line, Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN draws on a storied history of robot horror (Westworld, Child’s Play, Terminator), while putting a relevant, contemporary spin on it, and adding a new name to the canon - Megan.

Played by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis, Megan is a child-size AI doll whose primary purpose is to offer friendship, advice and safety to young users. But when its creator Gemma (Allison Williams) assigns the doll to her adopted niece Cady (Violet McGraw), Megan’s overactive protection function and ever-evolving independence begin to create a pattern of fatalities and bloodshed around the trio.

Johnstone uses the very real possibility of functional, humanoid AI to embed violence and malevolence at the heart of the family unit. Megan functions as both scientific wonder and classic slasher villain, incorporating aspects of both into something whose terror resides in the familiarity of the technology. Sure, we may still be a couple decades away from having android helpers in the home, but the real and present fears that films like M3GAN tap into can’t be overstated.