MEGAN-Barbie Is No Match for Megan

MEGAN is the new Queen of the AI (artificial intelligence) thrillers.  It's creepy, credible, cringeworthy and diabolical and destined to become a cult hit.  The film is ablaze on TikTok, a fashion craze and bestows homage to her many predecessors.  These nods are plentiful and playful, alluding to old classics, fantasy flicks, horror pics and the prescient buzz with the omnipotence of AI.  It's fun noting obvious hints as those to THE WIZARD of OZ, ET, EXORCIST and most recent, the film "After Yang" starring Colin Farrel.  The basic plot, orphaned girl gets a playmate in a robotic doll designed to befriend, mentor and defend her against all interlopers. MEGAN adds a lot to the genres with a 'Big Whoop'!  The film follows Disney's design of killing off one or both parents and placing a child in unchartered water.  Nobel Prize winning author, Kazoo Ishiguro and Booker Prize winning author, Ian McEwan, both wrote novels about relationships with AI dolls from the point of view of a child, an adult and the AI doll itself in their respective books; "Klara and the Sun" and "Machines Like Me."  Ishiguro generates sympathy for his AI, Klara, abandoned by her childhood companion when she grows into adulthood like the beloved cowboy, Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks.  Don't worry about feeling sorry for Megan.  No one puts this baby doll in a corner.  The film dissects what it means to be a responsible parent, a child pushing her boundaries and society's growing dependencies on technology.  The tension becomes so intense at times, you may need to cover your eyes or perhaps, use a chainsaw.  There's LOL lines that offer some comic relief.  The musical score and MEGAN's salacious dance are sure to spawn copies.  The acting is convincing by its leads, Alison Williams ("Get Out") who plays Gonna, the engineer/inventor of Megan and guardian of her orphaned niece, Cary, played by Violet McGraw ("Haunting of Hill House").  Actress, Alison Williams is a doppelgänger for actress Jennifer Connelly, Jen Brown plays fellow engineer, Tess.  Brown is a ringer for Minnie Driver and Megan resembles a female version of the doll, Chucky.  All this adds to the mystique of lines blurred and to what's real and what's not.  I can't help but hark back to the classic Pinocchio tale.   The age old tale is continuously revamped.  The questions remain what defines us as human and humane.  The question of whether this is for you depends, whether you have a penchant for chills.  Me, I liked the thrills.   Bet on MEGAN being continued.