The ‘M3GAN’ ‘Second Screen’ Chatbot Is an Epic Fail — and Offers Another Dire Warning for Our Future

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Instead of celebrating Easter like everyone else, Blumhouse decided to offer a spooky alternative titled “Halfway to Halloween.” By recognizing horror fans’ constant craving for chilling films, producer Jason Blum is re-releasing three of their most successful horror movies – “M3GAN”, “Annabelle” and “Ma” – in theaters separately, six months after Halloween.

On April 30th, I found myself comfortably seated for the showing of “M3GAN”, a 2023 murder-doll thriller that has earned its place alongside “Get Out” and “Glass” among Jason Blum’s highest-grossing films. Just before the movie began, a pre-recorded message from Blum appeared on screen, praising the nearly full auditorium of horror enthusiasts for honoring what he referred to as a “holy day”, albeit a made-up one.

Anticipating the arrival of “M3GAN 2.0” this summer, I’m hoping for a glimpse into what the sequel might hold – or even better, an unexpected surprise like the one Ari Aster delivered when he secretly premiered “Beau Is Afraid” to Alamo Drafthouse viewers who believed they were attending a fan screening of “Midsommar.”

Unfortunately, it was just a simple re-release of the original PG-13 version, but with an intriguing difference: The film “M3GAN” was chosen as the platform for Meta’s debut of their Movie Mate technology, where viewers are invited to engage with a M3GAN-themed chatbot on their smartphones throughout the movie.

This scenario is essentially my biggest fear – yet it could also make an intriguing first watch for a horror movie delving into the advantages and drawbacks of artificial intelligence. Why not take the plunge and see how it turns out?

Instead of purchasing a ticket for a seat in the back row due to the possibility of distracting others with my phone’s screen light, I opted for that location so I could have a broad view of the entire audience. Interestingly, no one else used their electronic devices during the movie throughout its duration.

Before the actual movie began, there was another segment that felt like a separate scene. For me, trailers are one of the best aspects of going to the cinema (something even film critics miss out on during press screenings), but I can understand why some people become restless and engage in conversations or texting during them. It’s as if they’re searching for any diversion from the ads we all have to watch before getting to the movie you paid for. Over time, frequent cinema-goers may even find themselves watching the same preview multiple times.

It’s no surprise that viewers have grown fond of engaging with the cheesy Nicole Kidman promo that AMC airs prior to every show. Immediately after Kidman said her line “Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this,” a Blumhouse Halfway to Halloween slide appeared, encouraging us to “DM #H2H to @M3GAN on Instagram to get started.” Naturally, I followed suit. It seems that the two men sitting a few rows ahead of me also did the same, although they wisely put their phones away for the remainder of the movie.

The chatbot promptly responded with a quick, mechanical-sounding greeting like “Hey, Peter! I’ve certainly missed you. After all, you’re my best friend.” It then provided guidelines on how to operate it. Specifically, it suggested that I press the “switch me on” button as soon as the Blumhouse logo appeared, and in return, it would share behind-the-scenes stories about creating its movie and reveal interesting facts while I watched.

It’s common knowledge among those who occasionally read my posts about X that I’m not particularly tech-savvy when it comes to social media. In fact, I made a mistake from the get-go. The Blumhouse logo popped up shortly after the slide, and in my haste, I texted “turn me on” to M3GAN, but the movie didn’t begin for another two minutes.

To begin with, I had to endure Blum’s introduction and a cheesy message from Violet McGraw, who plays Cady in the film. A tantalizing sneak peek of upcoming Blumhouse productions followed, including “Black Phone 2” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”. The chatbot then teased me with a promotional pitch to “get in The Van”, which was essentially an invitation to subscribe to the Blumhouse newsletter. It wasn’t until much later that the M3GAN logo appeared, but by then, my chatbot companion was already sharing insider information about Purrpetual Pets, the irritating virtual companions that serve as a prelude to M3GAN in the movie. “I wonder how they came up with the name m3,” it mused humorously.

Fantastic, not only did our conversation seem to be off-beat (with no solution in sight), yet I found myself pondering: Was M3GAN actually going to replace every ‘E’ with ‘3’ in our “3xchang3”? To clarify, this wasn’t an interactive exchange at all. You can send messages to the M3GAN account freely, but it doesn’t respond. Instead, it automatically dispenses quizzes and trivia based on a pre-set schedule.

“Do you answer questions?” I asked.

Silence.

After that, I began to respond sarcastically, saying to M3GAN, “It seems like there’s not much brainpower behind this artificial brain.

Silence.

Two minutes after, it asked a question on its own: “Did you know who stepped in for Cady when they were packing up her belongings at her old house? The correct answer was ‘Jason Blum.’ It wasn’t particularly intriguing, but I did learn an interesting tidbit from this interaction – the girl’s name, which seemed like ‘Katie’ when pronounced, is actually spelled C-A-D-Y (something you wouldn’t necessarily figure out by watching).

You don’t have to endure the rest of the details about M3GAN I was subjected to for an hour and a half. Instead, I encourage you to give it a try yourself, as it turns out you can interact with M3GAN from home! It doesn’t matter if you’re in a theater or not; you can watch or stream “M3GAN” whenever and wherever suits you. To have the same experience I had, simply text “#H2H” to the @M3GAN account on Instagram. Do note that pausing might disrupt the conversation flow. (Keep in mind that the bot isn’t AI or smart enough to know your location when engaged.)

At the pivotal moment of the single quiz question, I found myself neglecting my secondary screen, which seemed to be irritating the lady seated beside me, prompting her to relocate to a different chair, likely to escape the glare from my device. I felt compelled to offer an apology and clarify that we were all expected to engage in such activity… however, no one else appeared to be doing it.

The pair sitting near me seemed to have a clever strategy – they remained quiet throughout the movie, only to bring out their phones during the end credits to read through all the chatbot’s messages. Interestingly, I opted for the AMC Century City theater over Alamo Drafthouse, despite its teenagers who often disrupt films with texting and chatter. This time, though, they kept quiet.

I have several ideas as to why the Meta Movie Mate experiment didn’t succeed (excluding the suspicion that people aren’t interested in talking to M3GAN). One possibility is that audiences are intelligent enough to recognize when something is merely a marketing ploy. During my conversation with M3GAN for an hour and a half, she essentially tried to sell me on “M3GAN 2.0,” which felt like nothing more than a sales pitch. Furthermore, I was asked if I wanted to be notified about system updates. Not interested in that either.

In this version, I’ve attempted to make the language more natural and conversational while keeping the original meaning intact. The focus is on the audience being intelligent enough to recognize marketing tactics and the experience feeling like a sales pitch.

In simpler terms, the studio didn’t fully clarify the movie’s concept, which turned out to be quite simple compared to advanced killer-robot characters. The M3GAN chatbot seemed less complex than some computer programs from the ’90s and responded in a scripted manner to user prompts. The initial social media slide during the trailer, asking for audience reactions, was similar to many we’ve seen before movies. As a whole, society has learned to disregard such requests, so it’s unlikely that many viewers who watched “M3GAN” with me recognized what they might have missed.

It’s not uncommon to see young folks whipping out their phones when they’re feeling restless during movies, whether at the theater or at home. However, “M3GAN” is quite engaging, so it detracts from the enjoyment if you’re frequently glancing at your chatbot during crucial moments. It’s less surprising that the women sitting next to me started texting during a showing of Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” at an AMC theater, as the movie is more subtle and quiet compared to what their TikTok-influenced minds might be accustomed to.

Predicting the potential uses of Movie Mate in the future can be challenging due to numerous alternative methods for providing supplementary content during a movie screening. For instance, commentary tracks or pop-up trivia are more common choices. I was led to believe that Movie Mate would offer an upgraded viewing experience, similar to augmented reality, where my phone could enrich the film with added value. Regrettably, it turned out to be nothing more than a time-consuming diversion, one that probably drained the marketing budget more than “M3GAN” made in theater sales on that particular day.

Despite any initial reservations, I’m genuinely thrilled I got to witness it. The film is nothing short of astounding, as it skillfully makes you believe that M3GAN, the advanced toy transformed into a protective companion, possesses her own thoughts. As for this AI, I had one final message to convey: “Come alive.

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2025-05-01 20:47