January is usually seen as the dumping ground for bad movies, especially horror. This year was the exception to that rule with M3GAN, whose clever premise and strong reviews propelled the film to a $30 million opening weekend and a total tally of $170 million worldwide. It was a hit, however, before it even came out, thanks to strong marketing, particularly the trailer, which gave us insight into what M3GAN was and revealed that bizarre dance that quickly went viral and took over Tik-Tok.
While M3GAN's two leads, Allison Williams and eleven-year-old Violet McGraw, are solid as Gemma, the robot doll-building aunt, and Cady, the poor orphan child who gets gifted her creation, it's the murderous mayhem that audiences showed up for. M3GAN delivers for the most part, giving us a creepy killer doll who could easily give Chucky a run for his money. The only thing holding the movie back was that at times it seemed a bit tame, as if the chaos was taken just to the brink and then stopped before going overboard. Much of that came down to the film's rating. While the blood and swearing flow in any Chucky movie, M3GAN was hindered a bit by its PG-13 boundaries. The decision to not go for a hard R rating is understandable. M3GAN is meant to be more of a fun horror comedy directed at teens. This isn't The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The Director Of 'M3GAN' Thought a PG-13 Rating Was Scarier
In an interview with Games Radar, director Gerard Johnstone explained the mindset behind the film's more tame rating:
"Making it PG-13 was something that happened after the fact, but it was always so close to PG-13 anyway. It seemed kind of a mistake not to embrace it. I even remember thinking early on, 'This could be PG-13, and some of my favorite films like Drag Me to Hell are PG-13.' So we made the decision to go PG-13 and actually reshot a couple of things. What I was really stoked about is that when we reshot those scenes, they were more effective. It's like 'Yes, you do have to cut away at certain times' but it's fun having to rely on sound and suggestion so much. I remember turning to my sound designer after a re-do and just saying, 'Holy shit, that's worse. We were trying to get this PG-13 rating, and I was like, 'That is so much worse than what we had before.'"
While Johnstone was right about how sound and suggestion can be more suspenseful than gore, it still felt like something was missing. M3GAN didn't need to be Terrifier 2, but audiences wanted to see what the killer doll was truly capable of. Instead, most of her violence is cut away from.
The questions about Johnstone's original vision can finally be answered, with an unrated version of M3GAN now available on Peacock. So, here's what you didn't get in the theater.
There Is More Cursing In the Unrated Version of 'M3GAN'
If you're hoping for a drastically different movie, you're going to be disappointed. This is 99% the same M3GAN seen on the big screen. Still, the changes are significant and make for a more impactful punch. Before you even get to the kill scenes, one of the differences is in the language. In PG-13 films you're allowed one or two f-bombs. Here you get more than a half dozen of them. Most go to Ronny Chieng, who plays Gemma's boss, David. He was an insufferable jerk in the theatrical version. The added swearing works to make him even less tolerable. If you're wondering if M3GAN gets to share some of the curse word load, the answer is yes, but she isn't like Chucky, letting profanities fly left and right. She only gets one well-placed f-bomb drop, which makes it that much more effective. The unrated version changes a scene of M3GAN telling Williams that "I'll tear your head right off your neck" to "I'll tear your head right off your f***ing neck." Yikes. One little word adds so much to her uncontrollable robotic rage.
The Blood Flows In the Unrated Version of 'M3GAN'
As for the gore, the three main kill scenes no longer cut away from the action (thankfully there's nothing added to that awful moment with the dog). When M3GAN is attacked by the bully Brandon (Jack Cassidy) in the woods, she fights back, yanking on his ear lobe and pulling it away from his head so hard that it stretches like silly putty. In the theatrical version it cuts away, but in the unrated film we get the gooey goodness of watching his ear pop off in a geyser of blood. Additionally, when he runs away from M3GAN, only to be hit by a car, we get a few more frames of him being hit, but without it being over-the-top.
When M3GAN next attacks Gemma's neighbor Celia (Lori Dungey) in her shed, she kills her in an ingenious way, blasting her to death with a power washer. The theatrical version cuts away as the high-powered spray is hitting Celia in the face, but the unrated version lingers, showing the flesh from her cheek being ripped off in large chunks.
What's most added to the unrated version of M3GAN is the showdown between doll and boss when M3GAN chases down David inside the Funki office building. David flees from her as she does her weird dance and chases him down with the blade from a paper shredder. He's almost to an elevator, which stands open with Kurt (Stephane Garneau-Monten), his assistant, inside. David begs him to keep the doors open while Kurt frantically pushes at buttons, trying to get them to close. David gets to the open elevator, but it's too late, as the blade goes through his back and out his chest, killing him.
The theatrical version shows just the tip of the blade coming out and is strangely bloodless, minus the blood on the blade when M3GAN pulls it out. In the unrated version, however, we see more of the blade coming out of him and David's chest erupts with a spray of blood that covers both the elevator and Kurt. While blood isn't needed to make a film scary, this is an example of where it works, as David's death didn't feel like much of a moment in the original version. Murder shouldn't be easy to look at.
M3GAN then turns her sights to Kurt, who is cowering in fear inside the elevator. She tells him that she's going to frame him and make this look like a murder suicide. In the theatrical version she lunges at him with the blade, but then we cut away, implying that Kurt his dead. There is no implication in the unrated version, as M3GAN slits Kurt's throat and his blood flows while he gasps for breath.
Though It's Only a Few More Seconds of Runtime, the Changes to 'M3GAN' Add to the Film
Outside of M3GAN's f-bomb during the climax, the rest of the movie plays out just like the theatrical version. The unrated version is only a few seconds longer, but those seconds work to show more of M3GAN's savagery. It'll be interesting to see if the already announced sequel, M3GAN 2.0, decides to stay with the bloodless PG-13 rating, or if it leans into the craziness. Either way, it's certain to be another wildly entertaining film.
The unrated version of M3GAN is out now on Peacock. If you're squeamish or not a fan of cursing, worry not — the PG-13 theatrical version is there too.