March 19, 2023 | Total Issue 3180
The American sci-fi thriller "Megan" (M3GAN) was released in the mainland on March 17, with Wen Ziren as the producer and screenwriter. When I saw his name, I couldn't help but be shocked. Wen Ziren's works such as "The Conjuring", "Nun" and "Annabelle" have swept overseas, causing screams in theaters, but it is the first time that his thriller has landed in mainland theaters.
After watching the film, the author understood. The sci-fi elements of the film are heavy, and the thriller elements are just right. Audiences watching "Meghan" in theaters, the fear of artificial intelligence will be greater than the villain's exaggerated killing behavior, this is a movie that thinks about whether technological progress will pose a threat to mankind.
"Meghan" was released in the mainland as a thriller, which also led the author to think about another question, where did the domestic thriller go? The film and television monologue connected with the film screenwriter A Xuan, listening to him talk about the creative shortcomings of domestic thrillers.
Will AI defect?
"Meghan" tells the story of scientist Gemma (Alison Williams) who developed the artificial intelligence robot Megan (Amy Donald), which coincided with her lost her parents' niece Cardi (Violet McGraw) into her life. Gemma decided to make Megan and Cardy friends as a way to test the performance of the product. However, after Megan's self-awareness awakened, she gradually became uncontrollable.
The creative grip of "Meghan" is the dependence of human beings on technological products in reality. The film opens with Cuddy intently controlling a stuffed animal with a tablet, and electronic pets are replacing small animals as children's new favorites. The creator uses this as an incision to start the narrative, quickly closing the distance between the story and the audience.
The appearance of the robot Megan marks that the level of technology in the film is several steps faster than the real world, and the film officially enters the sci-fi narrative. Meghan and Cardy got along very well in the early days, giving the audience a sense of a children's inspirational film, but the audience will also have a sense of fear that danger is imminent.
That fear comes from Meghan's look. Megan is a large doll that looks a bit like Barbie. Her solemn expression, cold eyes, and mechanical dialogue without any emotion give people the first impression that people should not be approached.
Megan gradually gains a sense of autonomy, and she begins to clear the threats around Cadi, such as the neighbor's dog, the problem teenager in Cadi's class, and she thinks that her killing is protecting Cuddy. Its methods are cruel and ruthless, and the film's terrifying and murderous atmosphere is getting stronger and stronger.
Through the new "family" composed of Gemma, Cardy and Megan, the film raises two questions: First, can the company of loved ones be replaced by technological products? Second, will AI betray humanity?
The first question concerns companionship, which is closely related to the modern family. In the film, Gemma is busy with work, and she is eager to let Megan, who is not officially finished, accompany Cardy. In reality, many parents around the author often ignore the company of their children, thinking that children playing electronic products can make parents rest for a while, and children become dependent on electronic products.
The company of loved ones is indispensable. Gemma in the movie realizes that she wants to disconnect Meghan and Cadi, but finds out that it is too late, and Cuddy does not want to communicate with Gemma anymore.
The second question is, will artificial intelligence defect? This is closely related to human development. Hollywood movies "Terminator", "The Matrix" and "Ex Machina" are all discussing this issue, including the Chinese sci-fi film "The Wandering Earth" also has related plots. The conclusion given by these films is that it will be difficult for humans to harness artificial intelligence in the future.
The story of "Meghan" takes place in the lives of ordinary people and has the effect of "warning". Gemma apparently didn't write code for Megan to harm humans, and Megan killed humans against her will. Meghan accurately used the equipment around her to commit the murder, using high-pressure water cannons and paper cutters to kill the target people one by one, which was terrifying.
There is no standard answer to the second question, and the creators of "Meghan" hope that scientists can constrain the use of artificial intelligence, and once technology is freed from human control, humans will be eaten back.
The robot Megan in the film is one of the protagonists, and it is not a digital CG character. Megan is featured in the model when she is still and played by a young actor when she runs in motion, and facial effects are produced in the later stages. This shooting method not only makes the characters appear vivid, but also saves some computer special effects costs, and Wen Ziren is indeed an expert in making thrillers.
Where did domestic thrillers go?
Thrillers and horror films are not the same, the former focuses on psychological thrillers, and the stories are mostly suspenseful plots derived from criminal acts, such as "Far Cry"; The latter focuses on monsters and gods, and hideous and terrifying monsters and weirdos will appear in the story, such as "The Clown Returns".
Domestic thrillers have previously had high-grossing works such as "Far Cry" and "Beijing No. 81", why have they become rare genre films in recent years?
Screenwriter Ah Xuan entered the industry in 2012 and has written the scripts for two thrillers. According to his recollection, the management department's requirements for thrillers must first read the complete script, and the script can only be approved after it has been reviewed. Most comedy and action movies only need to see the synopsis of the story.
Secondly, there can be no weird power in a thriller. Screenwriters generally attribute the story to the cause of psychosis and dreams.
Ah Xuan emphasized that the production cost of thrillers is mostly in the range of 2 million ~ 5 million yuan, the market return is relatively stable, and many film companies are willing to invest in thrillers. He observed that in 2012~2018, thrillers were released almost every month at this stage.
After 2019, the number of thriller releases in the theatrical market has plummeted. On the one hand, the number of thriller projects in recent years is small, and on the other hand, creators have begun to turn to the field of online films.
Ah Xuan said that the audience will eventually get bored watching shoddy work on the big screen. However, watching this type of film on the Internet, the audience can ignore some production shortcomings, and thrillers have found a new survival platform.
Compared with Hollywood, what are the obvious disadvantages of domestic thrillers, regardless of the production cost?
Ah Xuan analyzed that Hollywood thrillers focus on portraying the growth curve of characters, and there is a development process for characters to become bad, highlighting the behavioral motivations of characters by showing the evil side of human nature, such as "The Shining". Domestic thrillers usually give the villain a greedy and vicious nature to a straightforward character, the character portrayal appears straightforward and flat, and the story and characters are difficult to remember by the audience.
According to this, the portrayal of Megan in the movie "Meghan" is extremely prominent, and the audience can feel the whole process of Meghan's transformation from innocence to cruelty.
It is a character that can make people fearful, and the seemingly weak body contains strong lethality, and a villain image of a god was born.
The mainland release of "Meghan" may bring some inspiration to the creators of domestic thrillers. Thrillers can't attract audiences just by killing and suspense. The plot is connected to reality, and at the same time can be cleverly integrated with other genre elements to bring new life to life.
(Note: Ah Xuan is a pseudonym in the text)
【Text/Cui Ting】