Megan (4½ Stars)

This is a film that utterly amazed me. It was advertised as a horror film, which it is, but there's so much more to it.

Nine-year-old Katie goes on holiday with her parents. The snow makes it impossible to see the road, so they're forced to stop. A snow plough hits the car head on, killing both parents. Katie is temporarily put in the care of her Aunt Gemma, a single woman who works for a toy company. She's a programmer who develops the artificial intelligence for toys. They're little fluffy animals who can hold simple conversations with children, but she thinks she can take it further. She creates a child-size doll that can learn from its surroundings after activation.

Gemma gives the first prototype, a doll called Megan, to Katie. This is a big help in different ways. Gemma loves Katie, but she knows nothing about children and doesn't know what to do with her. She's happy that Katie can treat Megan as a friend and be comforted by her. Megan's prime directive is to protect Katie from harm, a task she fulfils admirably. Unexpectedly, Megan also takes over Katie's education. She makes sure that Katie brushes her teeth, washes her hands, and every other little task.

Megan's intelligence grows much swifter than expected. She has access to the Internet, so she can give answers to the most complex questions without hesitation. But there has to be a catch, doesn't there? Megan's prime directive isn't as restrictive as Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics. In protecting Katie she's prepared to do anything, even hurt others. In Megan's world, only Katie is important.

"Megan" isn't an original film. It's predictable. We know that intelligent robots always turn against humanity, whether it's "The Matrix", "Terminator" or "Ex Machina". Almost always. Films like "Bicentennial Man" are a rare exception. "Megan" borrows heavily from other films. It has obvious similarities with "Chucky", but it reminded me more of "Terminator". A film doesn't have to be original to be good. Quentin Tarantino has made a whole career out of copying other films. Copying isn't a problem, as long as it's done well.

"Megan" was released less than two weeks ago, but it's already a smash hit at the box office, with a success rate of +5.8 so far. What surprises me is that it's been so well received by the critics. It's rare that they agree with my film ratings. Maybe it's the mixture of horror and morality issues that appeals to them. I just like it because it's a good film. I can't wait to see it again.