Director Gerard Johnstone returned to both write and direct M3GAN 2.0, which pumped up the action for a bigger budget, genre-shifting spectacle that Blumhouse hoped would be something of a summer blockbuster for them. Alas, it seems the studio overestimated M3GAN’s appeal as a modern horror icon, as Jason Blum himself readily admits.

In any event, we’re talking about M3GAN 2.0 again here today because Johnstone revealed in a chat with Discussing Film over the weekend that an Unrated cut of the film is on the way.

Johnstone tells the site, “There will be an unrated version with a few [extra] scenes. We pack a lot in. I get it, it’s a long time to sit in the theater. So, we really wanted the [theatrical cut] to be under two hours. However, in the unrated cut, you’ll see a few things that didn’t make it into the theatrical version.”

“Also, there are many lines in the trailers that help tell the story, but M3GAN doesn’t say them in the film at all,” Johnstone laughs. “The studio needed promotional material. Sometimes, the trailers were already made before we could decide, ‘Can this beat make it into the movie or not?’ But, in a way, it still informs the universe.”

The first M3GAN also received an Unrated cut on home video, you might recall. That cut ultimately wasn’t much different, with some of the film’s gory sequences slightly extended.

Stay tuned for more info on M3GAN 2.0‘s eventual home video release.

The post Director of ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Teases an Unrated Version With New Scenes appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Since the events of the previous film, M3GAN’s creator, Gemma (Allison Williams), has become an author and advocate for AI oversight in atonement for unleashing tech responsible for multiple deaths. Her niece Cady (Violet McGraw), now a rebellious teen, struggles both against her guardian’s overprotective nature and how her friendship with M3GAN ended. It turns out that Gemma and Cady will have plenty of time to reconcile their feelings over M3GAN when they’re forced to resurrect her to square off against a new high-powered killer AI, Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), born of M3GAN’s stolen blueprints and determined to unleash an AI apocalypse.

There’s a self-awareness to M3GAN 2.0 that works in favor of and against it. The sassy doll became such a fast fan favorite in 2023, and this sequel dedicates itself to delivering more of her. During the fairly fast-paced bid to revive M3GAN and get her into the fray, the sequel re-establishes the core dynamics between human protagonists Gemma and Cady, namely their dysfunction. The brief two years between films means residual issues to work through, with trust issues and Gemma’s lingering remorse at the forefront. Throw in Cady’s teen angst, a new love interest for Gemma in Christian (Aristotle Athari), and company stressors that have colleagues Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jan Van Epps) feeling disregarded, and you have endless emotional conflict played up for dramatic effect.

Once M3GAN enters the equation properly, though, the human conflicts get shoved aside with little room to resolve any of them. It also means that giant leaps are taken to bridge Gemma and Cady’s natural reluctance to trust M3GAN with the killer AI’s inevitable redemption. In other words, in a film that pits two high-tech weapons against each other in a series of escalating, outlandish action sci-fi sequences, it’s the human storylines and arcs that require the most suspension of disbelief.

The star of the show, at least, more than delivers. Amie Donald and Jenna Davis are both back to reprise M3GAN’s uncanny physicality and deadpan zingers, respectively. Even better is that they’re given more to do, with M3GAN getting much more screen time. That also means multiple iterations, various states of battle damage, and, of course, new fits. Weta Workshop handles some of the practical effects, particularly with the robotic animatronics involved. It’s a M3GAN showcase, both narratively and visually, ticking off the meme boxes while evolving the character to ensure her original programming goal is finally met with satisfaction. 

It’s Donald and Davis’ pitch-perfect performances, along with Cooper’s talent for coming up with outrageous and absurd horror setups so comically fun, that offsets the sequel’s messier impulses. It’s the type of sequel that favors spectacle above all else, eroding the sharpness of its satirical commentary on AI and falling into a more predictable trajectory that wears its cinematic influences on its sleeves. Comparisons to Terminator 2: Judgment Day are apt and earned, but M3GAN 2.0 also borrows liberally from Upgrade and wedges in a Knight Rider bit. It knows exactly what type of movie it is, which means the humor either really lands or misses its mark entirely.

M3GAN 2.0 takes full advantage of its bigger budget, delivering more expansive set pieces and slicker production values. Its plot is more of a means to let M3GAN off the leash and induce chaos with her trademark brand of dry sarcasm and panache. The switch from horror to action sci-fi with a few horror-coded scenes surprisingly comes with a higher body count, and Johnstone navigates deftly around that PG-13 rating with a few bursts of inspired violence. It all makes for great summer escapism fun, even if it’s messy. It ultimately succeeds where it matters most: M3GAN never loses her edge in her infectious journey from villain to hero.

M3GAN 2.0 dances into theaters on June 27, 2025.

The post ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Review – The AI Icon Slays Her Bigger, Badder and Messier Sequel appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The official Monster High doll launches June 11, 2025, at 9am PT,  through the Mattel Creations online shop, and the limited edition collector’s item will be selling for $65.

Mattel previews, “WARNING: M3GAN is no ordinary doll. She is apex artificial intelligence … or, in her case, artificial malevolence. Attempts to alter her code were in vain. Though she may look sweet and toy-like, she will go to any lengths necessary to maximize her objective function. She possesses myriad emergent capabilities that The Company has yet to discover, as well as a mocking attitude that suggests she’s become self-aware. Do not activate M3GAN under any circumstances.”

Here are some key features for the doll…

• MONSTER HIGH SKULLECTOR M3GAN Doll
• 10 inches tall with 11 points of articulation
• Outer face detaches to reveal android face underneath
• Glossy circuit board dress with mesh sleeves and oversized bow
• Comes with Mary Jane heels, code-print tights, and PurRpetual Petz Bat Purse
• Premium, displayable packaging showcases killer dance moves

From June 10, 2025, at 9:00am PT through June 11, 2025, at 8:59am PT, only Fang Club members can buy this doll at MattelCreations.com, while supplies last, limited to one per member. During this early access window, limited units will be made available to Fang Club members.

Other horror icons to get the Monster High treatment in recent years include Elvira, Chucky, Tiffany, Wednesday Addams, Annabelle, Dracula, and even Greta from Gremlins 2.

The announcement’s timing is perfect, considering M3GAN and M3GAN 2.0 director Gerard Johnstone has been set to direct the live-action Monster High film.

The post ‘M3GAN’ Is More Than a Toy; She’s Now a Monster High Skullector Doll appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Plot details have not been revealed, but the film will feature an original story based on the beloved fashion dolls imagined as the children of legendary monsters.

Mattel Studios is developing the project with Universal Pictures and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (I Am Legend, A Beautiful Mind) under his Weed Road banner.

“Gerard’s unique vision and genre-blending style make him the perfect fit for this film,” said  Mattel Studios President Robbie Brenner. “This is exactly what we’re building at Mattel Studios as we continue to work with top talent to tell fresh, unexpected stories from our rich portfolio of brands. Monster High is a fan-favorite franchise with endless storytelling potential, and we are thrilled to reimagine it in a monstrously exciting way with Gerard at the helm.”

“With Barbie, Mattel Studios demonstrated that they’re not afraid to take bold swings with their IP,” added Johnstone. “What makes Monster High so exciting for me is the opportunity to play in the sandbox of so many iconic monster myths, and getting to do that alongside Akiva, Robbie, and Universal Pictures is a total dream. I can’t wait for audiences to step into the weird, wonderful world of misfit magic we’re about to create.”

“Monster High is delightfully personal to me — my daughters grew up loving the dolls and what they represent,” commented Goldsman. “Gerard’s work is sharp, daring, and full of heart. He’s exactly the director this film needs.”

First introduced in 2010, Monster High quickly became a hit for Mattel and ushered in an expansive universe that includes a live-action TV movie, a CGI-animated series, a 2D-animated web series, video games, young adult novels, and more.

The post ‘M3GAN’ Director Gerard Johnstone to Helm ‘Monster High’ Live-Action Movie appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

From the moment M3GAN was introduced in trailers and danced her way into the internet’s collective hearts, the high-tech killer doll seemed destined for horror icon status. It helped that M3GAN reunited producer James Wan and screenwriter Akela Cooper, both responsible for 2021’s highly entertaining Malignant, and put Housebound’s Gerard Johnstone at the helm. The horror-comedy does live up to its promise to entertain, but with a heavy emphasis on humor and less on horror.

Top roboticist/developer Gemma (Allison Williams) stresses over a looming toy deadline at her company while secretly working on a passion project in the form of Model 3 Generative Android, which she dubs M3GAN to keep it simple. Then an unexpected accident claims the lives of her sister and brother-in-law, leaving her the sole guardian to young niece Cady (Violet McGraw). Ill-equipped to raise a grieving child, workaholic Gemma combines her work and home life by pairing Cady with M3GAN, a lifelike companion who can react and learn. What should be a winsome solution that makes Cady a happy beta tester and get Gemma’s boss (Ronny Chieng) off Gemma’s back becomes anything but.

M3GAN quickly develops a mind of her own, which comes at a lethal toll.

Despite the initial setup that places Cady in Gemma’s life and the subsequent guardian struggles that ensue, M3GAN refreshingly forgoes the trauma path in favor of skewering capitalism and the corporate world. Cooper’s screenplay frames the narrative through Gemma’s eyes as she navigates the corporate pressures placed upon her by a high-strung boss, his skittish assistant (Stephane Garneau-Monten), and the ethics of her creation with colleagues Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jan Van Epps). That pulls her focus away from Cady, giving her sentient product ample room to develop beyond her wildest dreams and nightmares.

M3GAN handles this with all the comedic wit and meme-worthy humor you’d expect based on the talent involved. It’s less about a newly orphaned girl and more about the absurdity of M3GAN’s existence and the desire to sell her as the hottest new toy despite fully knowing what kind of monster is on their hands. The more M3GAN evolves, the more entertaining she becomes as she acts less like her doll counterparts and more like Single White Female by way of Terminator.

The eponymous character gets brought to life through impressive effects by Adrien Morot and Kathy Tse, Amie Donald’s uncanny physical performance, and Jenna Davis’s haunting voicework. She exudes menace through facial expressions and jerky movements that trigger that unsettling uncanny valley. This is M3GAN’s movie, and she more than earns it through an immensely talented team. She’s aided by a sympathetic turn from Williams, who successfully prevents Gemma from losing rooting interest despite fumbling hard with Cady. McGraw holds her own against her AI scene-stealer, no small feat considering the nuanced stages of grief she cycles.

Much like its killer star, M3GAN seems more destined to resonate with a younger audience. The doll’s danger escalates in a very measured way, slowing the pacing and minimizing the body count. That pacing makes the foreshadowing all the easier to pick up, ensuring the story’s trajectory is well-telegraphed. Save for a few jump scares, there’s an overt restraint with the horror. The PG-13 rating also dampens what kills we do get. Those looking for the unexpected likely won’t find it here, though that doesn’t make it any less fun.

Entertainment is the sole aim here, and on that, M3GAN delivers. The memes are only getting started. Of course, that feels par for the course with the creative minds involved. Fittingly, M3GAN also takes place in the Pacific Northwest, practically in Malignant’s backyard, begging the question of whether Cooper and Wan are slyly creating an anything-goes horror universe. If they keep introducing wild horror villains like Gabriel and M3GAN, the more, the merrier. M3GAN may not go quite as hard as Gabriel, but she doesn’t have to: she possesses a broader mainstream appeal that’ll land her at the top of the hottest toys list this year.

M3GAN dances and sings her way into theaters on January 6, 2023.

The post ‘M3GAN’ Review – Blumhouse’s Slick New Killer Doll Aims to Entertain appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After kicking off 2022 with a double-dose of Scream 4, Joe and I started our “Underrated or Underseen?” theme for the first quarter of the year with a look at 2012’s American Mary and 2013’s The Lords of Salem. Now we’re tackling 2014 with a hearty discussion of Gerard Johnstone‘s hilarious comedy horror film Housebound!

In the film, would-be thief Kylie (Morgana O’Reilly) is remanded to the custody of her estranged mother (Rima Te Wiata), who turns out to be correct in her assertion that evil spirits are afoot in their family domicile. Without anywhere to go, Kylie reluctantly teams up with security contractor Amos (Glen-Paul Waru) to appease the spirits before it’s too late

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 162 – Housebound (2014)

Check your ankle monitor, grab your cheese grater and prepare for lockdown because we’re heading to New Zealand to discuss Gerard Johnstone’s hilarious comedy horror film Housebound (2014)!

Join us as we discuss Johnstone’s background in television before looking at the film through Philip Brophy’s not-so-household term “horrality.” Then we pretty much just spend the rest of the episode laughing at the endless barrage of hilarious scenes that Housebound throws our way!

Plus: Famous Amos, a lesson on how to navigate Rotten Tomatoes, Trace learns about commonwealths (and Coronation Street!) and Joe’s real-life New Zealand horror story involving….an apple?

Cross out Housebound!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re continuing our “Underrated or Underseen?” theme with a look at Oz Perkins’ dread-filled, boarding school-set horror film The Blackcoat’s Daughter!

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for tons of additional content! This month, we will have episodes on Scream (2022), Last Night in Soho, See for Me and the 2021 Hereditaries, as well an audio commentary on Psycho Goreman!

The post The “Horrality” of ‘Housebound’ [Horror Queers Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Synopsis: Kylie Bucknell is a bit of a troublemaker. Her latest brush with the law sees her placed under house arrest, a punishment made all the more unbearable by the fact that she’ll be living with her mother Miriam. Miriam can be a lot to handle, especially because she’s convinced her home is haunted. But when Kylie starts experiencing strange phenomena within the house, she wonders if maybe she’s inherited her mother’s overactive imagination – or if the house really might be haunted after all.

Key Players: Morgana O’Reilly takes the lead as Kylie, and Rima Te Wiata plays her superstitious mother Miriam. Cameron Rhodes is Dennis, the psychologist assigned to Kylie, and Glen-Paul Waru plays Amos, the security contractor keeping an eye on Kylie’s ankle monitor. Ryan Lampp is Eugene.

Why It’s on the List: Johnstone demonstrates a lot of creativity and innovation, ensuring the low budget never feels like a limitation. Housebound is the type of film best served knowing as little as possible going in, if you’ve never seen it before. The narrative keeps you on your toes, trying it’s best to maintain a level of unpredictability throughout. Most of all, Housebound offers up a lot of sincerely creepy moments thanks to its housebound lead character and the eerie atmosphere she finds herself trapped in. Plenty of tension, too. But this is a twisted horror-comedy, so the humor does offer up a reprieve from the scares. We have Te Wiata’s masterful performance as Miriam to thank for a lot of the laughs. A reminder: this is a New Zealand horror-comedy. There will be blood spilled.

Shower Crasher: A small moment that gives a tease of the unique blend of horror and humor, featuring a creepy toy that crashes Kylie’s shower. Is she becoming like her mother? Or is there something seriously wrong with the house?

Where You Can Watch: Housebound is available to rent or purchase through iTunes, or on Blu-ray.

The post [31 Days of Halloween] Day Twenty-One: New Zealand’s Twisted Horror Comedy ‘Housebound’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Gerard Johnstone, who directed the Australian horror movie Housebound (pictured), is on board to helm the project, which has a script by Akela Cooper, a writer-supervising producer who has worked on “Luke Cage” and “American Horror Story”.

Sounding similar to what MGM is doing with their remake of Child’s Play:

“Cooper’s script tells of a brilliant toy company roboticist who uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN, a life-like doll programmed to emotionally bond with her newly orphaned niece. But when the doll’s programming works too well, she becomes overprotective of her new friend…with terrifying results.”

There’s an interesting spin here in that the doll is protecting the child, which is sort of reminiscent of how James Cameron approached his Terminator sequel.

Part of the origin of the project lies at Wan’s Atomic Monster where he and his execs were kicking around film ideas and landed upon one about a killer doll, explains the site. Wan had already flirted with creepy and possessed dolls with movies such as Annabelle but this idea could resonate with audiences in a whole new way.

“The concept is about embracing technology too much and relying too much on it,” Wan says. “And what happens with technology runs amok. It’s a commentary on the world we live in and it feels relevant.”

Wan and Blum will produce the feature, which is aiming to begin shooting this fall. Michael Clear, of Wan’s Atomic Monster banner, will executive produce. Blumhouse’s Couper Samuelson will exec produce while Ryan Turek will oversee for the banner.

Watch for casting later this summer.

The post James Wan’s Child’s Play: Producing Killer Robot Doll Techno-Thriller ‘M3GAN’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

ScreenDaily reports that company will produce Sympathy For the Devil, which has Luke Paradise attached to write and Gerard Johnstone attached to direct.

The neo-noir plays out in real time over the course of a car-jacking.

Paradise wrote and is producing Sympathy For The Devil with Tracy Falco. Johnstone directed SXSW 2014 premiere Housebound.

The post ‘Housebound’ Director Has No ‘Sympathy For the Devil’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

We caught up with director Gerard Johnstone who, in the spirit of his film, selected 5 of his favorite ‘Horror Behind Closed Doors’ films.

In the New Zealand-based film, “Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother Miriam – a well-intentioned blabbermouth who’s convinced that the house is haunted. Kylie dismisses Miriam’s superstitions as nothing more than a distraction from a life occupied by boiled vegetables & small town gossip. However, when she too becomes privy to unsettling whispers & strange bumps in the night, she begins to wonder whether she’s inherited her overactive imagination, or if the house is in fact possessed by a hostile spirit who’s not particularly thrilled about her return.”

Johnstone clarifies that he was pretty strict about how to interpret ‘horror behind closed doors’, and specifically left out faves like Evil Dead and Brain Dead because, technically, the horror came from outside…

The Legend of Hellhouse

The first and last films on this list win for pure creepiness. It’s as if there is some sinister spirit lurking underneath the words of Richard Matheson and the direction of John Hough. A big part of the film’s effectiveness also comes from it’s sparse use of music and sound design. My favourite scene is when the lovely Gayle Hunnicut channels the spirits in the house. The stuff that comes out of her mouth is so completely left-field, it doesn’t just send chills down your spine, it the only moment in a film ever that literally put me on the edge of my seat. This film was a huge influence on Housebound, although we never got to shoot in fog. I felt we really let the audience down on that one. In the months off when we were waiting for our actors to return from their paid jobs, I’d wake up and see fog out the window and immediately call Luke, my producer and complain that we weren’t shooting something. I even made us bring in a smoke machine to set one day but it looked terrible. We gave up on it halfway through the scene, so it’s in some shots and not in others.

Poltergeist

It’s not easy to make a PG horror. This is one of the few films which prove that you can make a great horror film without excluding a younger audience. I love the old matte composites of swirling clouds above the rooflines. I wish movies still looked like this. There are so many great moments, like the clown at the end of the bed, but the opening shot on the television static is pure and simple genius. It also makes me lament the times before 24 hour television. I loved falling asleep to white noise. Actually that’s not true, it creeped me out, mostly because of this film.

The People Under the Stairs

This film is tonally all over the place but that’s probably why it was one of my favourite films as a kid. It’s like Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets House Party. Again, a big influence on Housebound as there’s just so much going on but it all works. It’s a black comedy, gothic fairytale, action-adventure, there’s even a mystery to be solved. It also has an African-American lead. It’s kind of the elephant in the room that horror movies always typecast towards scared whities.

From Dusk Till Dawn

I was one of the few lucky people that had no idea going into Dusk Till Dawn that it had Vampires in it. I just thought it was another Tarantino / Rodriguez gangster picture. I wish more films did this, just sidestepped into a completely different genre at the 50 minute mark. It was such a brilliant idea condensing the supernatural elements in one huge action packed finale at the end rather that rationing it out throughout the film.

The Exorcist

There’s not a lot to say about this film that hasn’t already been said, but I will say, one of the hardest challenges with Housebound was making the film feel like it had a soul. So a film that can have this much soul, as dark and tormented as it was, must require an incredible combination of talent. Many of these films appeal to me because they blend genres, which is what I was trying to do on Housebound (whether that worked is debatable), but The Exorcist‘s effectiveness I think came from Friedkin’s aesthetic as a documentary director married up with a very astutely observed family drama, which then slowly spiralled into a spiritual nightmare. There may never be another film like it. And I hope for the sake of a good night’s sleep that there isn’t.

The post 5 Fav ‘Horror Behind Closed Doors’ Films of ‘Housebound’ Director Gerard Johnstone! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Kylie is an angry, bitter young woman. For her, being trapped in a house with her mother Miriam (Rima Te Wiata) is a punishment worse than prison. Her stepfather Graeme (Ross Harper) tries to be civil towards her, but Kylie pushes away any attempts at familial compassion. Sipping beer and watching dopey television shows in between her volatile, court-ordered therapy sessions is all she can stomach. When she learns that her mother has long believed their house to be haunted, Kylie initially shrugs off the idea. But when the unfriendly spirits start targeting Kylie, she enlists the help of Amos (Glen-Paul Waru), the laconic security guard keeping tabs on her who happens to have a passion for the supernatural.

Amos and Kylie’s scenes together are fantastic. She’s hostile towards him at first – he is an authority figure after all. As they dig deeper into the secrets of the house, Kylie’s walls start to come down. Through it all, the magnetic Morgana O’Reilly absolutely kills it. Her potent facial expressions alone cut through the other characters and deliver knock-out blows of bitterness. The arc she undergoes is entirely believable as well, as she slowly comes to realize maybe everyone isn’t against her. O’Reilly handles it all with fervor and nuance. She’s a regular on some New Zealand TV shows but an unknown here in the States. Housebound will hopefully lead to international roles for her and I damn well hope she does more horror. As for Waru, he’s impossible not to love.

Once Kylie starts playing detective, Housebound plows through a lot of worn horror-comedy ground. However, it does so with so much gleeful indulgence that many of the beats feel fresh. Johnstone knows what a horror audience is expecting and he pounces at all the right moments. There’s a consistent tone that feels like Tales From the Crypt blended with the Kiwis’ deadpan humor. It’s really playful and biting. Even when the mystery starts to unravel and more serious themes are explored, Housebound never takes itself seriously enough to ruin the fun and the comedy never takes away from the tense atmosphere Johnstone establishes. In short, the elements are perfectly balanced for its entirety.

Housebound is the first feature for writer-director Johnstone and it announces the arrival of a great new talent in genre filmmaking. He knows his shit and cleverly twists the tropes to create something effectively creepy and wholly unique. Between this and The Babadook, the folks down under are making one hell of an impression on 2014 horror.

The post ‘Housebound’ Review – A Comical & Creepy House of Horrors! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In the New Zealand-based film, “Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother Miriam – a well-intentioned blabbermouth who’s convinced that the house is haunted. Kylie dismisses Miriam’s superstitions as nothing more than a distraction from a life occupied by boiled vegetables & small town gossip. However, when she too becomes privy to unsettling whispers & strange bumps in the night, she begins to wonder whether she’s inherited her overactive imagination, or if the house is in fact possessed by a hostile spirit who’s not particularly thrilled about her return.”

Housebound is directed by Gerard Johnstone and stars Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper, Bruce Hopkins, Ryan Lampp, Ian Mune and Wallace Chapman.

The post Image Gallery Gets ‘Housebound’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.