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The horror film M3GAN stars Allison Williams as Gemma, a woman who is given custody of her young niece after her parents tragically die in a car accident. Gemma is also a roboticist working for a toy company, and has created a doll named M3GAN using artificial intelligence. 

Gemma is at a loss for dealing with her young niece Cady (Violet McGraw) so she enlists the help of M3GAN, who is programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. 

This decision has catastrophic consequences. The doll becomes overprotective and determined to destroy anything or anyone who threatens Cady. 

The film comes from the mind of screenwriter Akela Cooper, who is familiar with writing horror. She also wrote Malignant and co-wrote Hellfest and The Nun 2.

What did Allison Williams say about the killer doll?

Williams is best known for her role as Marnie Michaels on the HBO comedy-drama series Girls. She is the daughter of former NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and TV producer Jane Gillan Stoddard.

Williams is starring in her second horror film M3GAN, the first being 2017’s Get Out. But this was her first time having a doll as a costar.

Williams spoke to Screen Rant about working with M3GAN, “I really don’t want to ruin the magic for people of what M3GAN is. But it was a challenge, I will put it that way. Of all the costars I’ve ever had, all of whom have been lovely, she was by far the most temperamental and challenging.”

She explained further, “But I will say that kind of effort literally took every department working together. And that’s the stuff that just brings a crew together and makes an experience really special from a meta standpoint.”

Allison Williams had another role on ‘M3GAN’

The Girls actress not only stars in the horror film, she is also an executive producer for the first time. Williams said she loves “all the minutiae” of the job and it makes her feel more invested in the success of the film. 

Producing is something she always had a knack for. Williams explained, “I always find a way to just make everything my business on all of these movies, but this time I got to do it officially. I got to know everything that was going on from start to finish, as much as I could.”

She went on to say that although she loves producing, she isn’t planning on directing anytime soon, “Directing is a very different skill set. I have never thought of myself in that way. I don’t look at my job from that lens, literally, of directing and bringing something to life. I love the combination of acting and producing, so I think that’s where I’m going to try to stick around.”

‘M3GAN’ needed a reshoot for a PG-13 rating

Half a dozen people dressed as M3GAN appear at an event promoting the film.
Several M3GAN “dolls” appear at a screening of the film “M3GAN” I Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Universal Pictures
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M3GAN director Gerard Johnstone originally intended for the movie to have an R rating, but after being inspired by a PG-13 rating Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, he decided to reshoot certain scenes.

He spoke to GamesRadar, “Making it PG-13 was something that happened after the fact, but it was always so close to PG-13 anyway,” he said. “It seemed kind of a mistake not to embrace it.”

He went on to say that some of the reshot scenes are now “more effective” and “it’s fun having to rely on sound and suggestion so much.”

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