Upcoming Hollywood thriller examines consequences of AI

As an activity, watching a movie is typically relaxing. However, for those attending the premiere of the upcoming Hollywood sci-fi thriller M3GAN, they might feel a chill run down their spine upon entering the CBD branch of Wanda cinema in Beijing.

The premiere was held on Tuesday night. With eight actresses wrapped in yellow skirts to dress up like the titular role, a killer doll equipped with artificial intelligence, they stood stiffly in an aisle under the dim lights, giving off an eerie and unsettling vibe. With such a "terrifying" atmosphere outside the theater, most audience said it had made the movie more immersive.

With filmmaker James Wan — one of the most influential horror filmmakers in Hollywood — as one of the producers, M3GAN follows Cady, a 9-year-old girl, who finds a new "friend" after she loses her parents in a car crash. The companion is called M3GAN, the abbreviation for Model 3 Generative Android, a child-sized humanoid robot doll powered by artificial intelligence. However, things spiral out of control after the doll develops "her" own thoughts.

Under the helm of New Zealand filmmaker Gerard Johnstone, the movie stars child actress Violet McGraw as Cady and American actress Allison Williams as Cady's aunt, the inventor of the killer robot.

The movie will be released across Chinese mainland on March 17.