14-year-old M3GAN 2.0 star reflects on growing up in the horror genre and how it all started with The Haunting of Hill House: "I like to get scared"

At just 14 years old, Violet McGraw has been a part of her fair share of horror projects. In the run-up to sequel M3GAN 2.0, the star reflects on growing up in the horror genre, and what it was like returning to the M3GAN franchise as a teenager.

"I feel like we've kind of grown up together without seeing each other," said McGraw to GamesRadar+ of M3GAN. "But I kind of love it, and I don't know, there's something about it that now I'm older, it's like, more special to me." McGraw was just 11 years old when making the first M3GAN movie.

However, M3GAN was not McGraw’s first rodeo, as the star made her horror debut in Mike Flanagan’s 2018 Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, where she played a younger version of Victoria Pedretti’s character Eleanor Crane. She then went on to appear in Flanagan’s 2019 Stephen King adaptation Doctor Sleep, 2021 supernatural horror movie Separation, and last year’s The Curse of the Necklace.

When asked what keeps drawing her back to the horror genre, the star replies, "There's just something about it. I've always loved jump scares, blood, and the scary music, which might be a little scary for a 14-year-old." McGraw’s M3GAN 2.0 co-star Allison Williams says she’s shocked at how the teen can watch so many scary movies, adding, "I don't like all the blood and jump scares, that's why I can't watch horror movies," to which McGraw says, "That’s what makes it fun for me, I like to get scared."

McGraw says her love of the genre came from being involved in so many horror projects from such a young age. "It's because I started at six when I did my first horror TV show, The Haunting of Hill House, and that's, I think, when I fell in love and realized that I love doing this genre," she tells us. "And the horror fans are just amazing, I love them so much. There's just nothing like them. And I just enjoy it. I think it's really cool."

But the M3GAN franchise means so much more to McGraw than simply another horror project, as the star says she has built genuine connections with the cast, with Williams adding that McGraw and Amie Donald, who plays the physical role of AI bot M3GAN, have become "very good buddies."

McGraw returns as orphaned Cady in M3GAN 2.0, who is left feeling lost after her bot bestie turned on her in the first movie. But when Cady’s aunt Gemma (Williams) finds out there is a much more dangerous robot after her, she has no choice but to resurrect M3GAN in order to protect herself and Cady.

M3GAN 2.0 is out in theaters from June 27. For more, check out our list of the best robot movies, or keep up with upcoming horror movies by reading your way.