Producer, director and screenwriter of horror films James Wang is no stranger to using killer dolls in his films. When you look back at every James Wan movie, in his breakthrough film “Saw,” a creepy doll in a tuxedo delivered messages to Saw victims, in “Dead Silence” there was a ventriloquist doll, and in the films “The Curse” there was a cursed doll. Considering that Wang’s latest film is M3GAN, in which the killer doll is again the central figure, this Australian director talks about why he is so obsessed with killer dolls.
M3GAN follows an artificial intelligence robot created by a roboticist with the intention of protecting his niece, left in her care after the loss of her parents. But since the robots know nothing about the limitations, this robotic doll will use any means necessary to protect whoever is in her care, including murder. According to EW, James Wang spoke about what inspired him to make killer dolls become prominent in his works.
I would just write that I watched “Poltergeist” at a very young age. It was definitely a very influential film for me, and I saw it at a very young impressionable age, and it made a huge impression on me, and this creepy clown doll definitely left me scarred for life.
Dolls really cause a creepy atmosphere. Imagine trying to fall asleep only to see a porcelain doll or even one of your stuffed toys looking right at you. Anyone half asleep will think that this doll with an obsessively constant grin has turned its head slightly in your direction. All seven films about Chucky caused fear of killer dolls in the audience. You might think that an innocent doll like Chucky just throws him across the room, only to discover that he has a power as strong as a human. While Chucky was pure fiction, the Annabelle films were based on a supposedly haunted doll that was settled by paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren. There was even a case when a Pennywise doll mysteriously ended up in a woman’s yard, forcing her to burn it. If dolls could really be a vessel for dark spirits, you’d better believe that the horror genre benefits greatly from this opportunity.
Dolls appear not only in James Wan’s films, but also in his house. The insidious director continues to talk about his special hobby, which further inflames his fascination with the creepy doll.
But I would also like to say that I am a big collector of such things. I love my collectibles, my figurines, and therefore, naturally, the idea of creating films based on one of these things comes to life, excites me. It’s exciting, and, of course, in the horror genre, it means that I can get a lot of pleasure from such a story.
It is not surprising that in the movie M3GAN, the heroine Gemma has her own collection of classic toys. One of the best features of this comedy horror movie was that the character M3GAN was not created in computer graphics. If you’re wondering if she’s real or animated, you can consider both of them. Each M3GAN medium plan was made with six or seven different puppets. Every frame where she walks or the moves she makes for this viral dance scene was a real child actor Amy Donald in a mask. The moments when her face moved, her eyes blinked, sound control and other mechanical functions were animatronic. If M3GAN had relied solely on computer graphics, the creepy behavior of the doll would not have been so convincing and would not have helped her get a super-high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Thank you, James Wang, for showing the film industry that practical effects can be very effective for a successful horror film.
James Wan’s creepy obsession with dolls has given us some memorable horror franchise hits. Hopefully, with the sequel to M3GAN, we’ll still see the use of killer dolls return to the big screen. Watch this killer doll sing, dance, and kill in the 2023 release of M3GAN in theaters right now.
