This is a scene from the movie "M3GAN." The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults.(OSV News photo/Geoffrey Short, courtesy Universal)

By OSV News

Wickedly funny send-up of the devil doll subgenre of horror films begins in a somewhat somber mood as a career-focused, emotionally repressed electronic toy developer (Allison Williams) tentatively tries to become a caregiver to her recently orphaned 8-year-old niece (Violet McGraw). But when the researcher employs one of her latest creations, the highly advanced young-girl android of the title, as a friend, full-time babysitter and substitute parent for her new charge, the robot takes the responsibility of protecting the lass to fatal extremes.

Those with a taste for sardonic wit will relish the mechanical observer’s deadpan take on human foibles and social trends. Yet, while the mayhem wreaked by her wayward bodyguarding is depicted with restraint, and the movie’s few serious moments showcase the need for familial unity, director Gerard Johnstone’s wild satire is too highly spiced for kids.

Intermittent violence with some gore, scatological gags, several instances each of profanity and milder swearing, at least one rough term, about a dozen crude expressions. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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