Leigh Whannell, while not necessarily a household name, is still a major figure in the modern horror genre. Along with co-writer/director James Wan, he’s responsible for creating Saw, and has been involved in each subsequent film. He also wrote, for James Wan, Dead Silence, Insidious, and Insidious: Chapter 2, as well as directing Insidious: Chapter 3. However, once Wan moved onto bigger projects like Furious 7 and The Conjuring, the two went their separate ways. While Whannell was comfortable as a writer/producer/actor, he always wanted to become a director in his own right. Even though he had directed Insidious: Chapter 3, Whannell was more so interested in directing his own film. So, in the summer of 2018, Whannell brought us the high-concept sci-fi film Upgrade. With a relatively low budget and somewhat lesser-known cast, how did Whannell’s first solo outing turn out?
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Rating
Set in an unspecified future, the movie centers around stay-at-home mechanic Grey (Logan Marshall-Green), who’s not exactly into newer technology. Grey must deliver a car to tech guru Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson), and he brings his wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo). While there, Eron introduces them to his latest innovation, an AI chip called STEM that acts as a secondary brain. Later that night, Grey and Asha drive home only for their car to crash and for them to get attacked. Asha gets killed while Grey is shot in the back of the neck, paralyzing him. Now confined to a wheelchair, hope seems lost for Grey until Eron gives him an offer. Eron will install the STEM chip to allow Grey to move so long as Grey keeps it a secret. Reluctantly, Grey agrees, and with his new enhancements, he decides to go after those responsible for his wife’s death.
I was fortunate to come into this nearly blind aside from hearing about the movie and knowing the general concept. With that in mind, I was really surprised by just how amazing this movie was. First off, the cast of this movie is phenomenal, especially Logan Marshall-Green who completely owns his role. When he ends up a quadriplegic, he does a great job playing a broken-down man who’s lost everything. Once he gets integrated with STEM, he instantly becomes a badass and just tears through guys left and right. Throughout the movie, Grey hears the voice of STEM (Simon Maiden) in his head, which actually works here. It creates a great dynamic where it debates who’s really in control: the man or the machine. The rest of the cast also do a good job, namely Eron Keen and Betty Gabriel.
The film also has a very stylish look to it, especially its use of color and lighting. It has a very 80s sci-fi look to it, similar to movies like The Terminator and Blade Runner. The music also adds to the style of the film, with a lot of synth beats and high energy beats. The direction from Leigh Whannel is great, and the cinematography is very stylish and inventive in its camera angles. The editing, while quick cut, flows naturally and you’re never left disoriented and confused like other quick-cut action films. If there are any problems, there’s not much time spent developing the relationship between Grey and Asha. Also, once you learn more about what’s going on, there’s a lot of strange and oddly convenient coincidences. Overall, Upgrade is one of the most underrated and inventive movies to come out in 2018.
