UPGRADE is the new film from writer/director Leigh Whannell and BLUMHOUSE TILT Productions. Leigh Whannell is the writer/creator of the original SAW film, writer of SAW II & SAW III, DEAD SILENCE, and the writer of all four INSIDIOUS films. With INSIDIOUS CHAPTER THREE he debuted behind the camera as the director and he has returned to the director's chair with Upgrade.
I'm a big fan of the Insidious films as well as Dead Silence. Those films are what first made director James Wan and Leigh Whannell's names jump out on my radar as people to watch for. When I saw the first red band trailers for Upgrade and read Leigh Whannell's name attached to it I was instantly sold (watch the red band trailer for Upgrade! It's awesome!). And last night I headed out to the theaters and saw it.
Wicked cool. The tone of the film reminded me very much of a low budget 80's science fiction or horror film a la those early John Carpenter and James Cameron films. The filmmakers here achieve a lot with a little and turn out one awesome movie.
THE PLOT
Grey Trace and his wife are gunned down in cold blood after a visit to one of the world's foremost inventors. Grey barely hangs onto life, now a quadriplegic. The inventor visits Grey at the hospital and offers a way to restore function to Grey's limbs. Grey agrees wherein a new microchip is grafted onto his spine. True to the inventor's word, the procedure succeeds and Grey is once more able to function as he used to. One night, while pouring over police evidence related to the shooting, Grey suddenly hears a voice in his head, the voice of the microchip, STEM. Stem uncovers a new bit of evidence that reveals the location of Grey's attackers. Grey now has to decide if he's going to call the police or pay a visit to the assailant's home himself.
WHAT I LIKED
Throwback Thursday. Ultimately what I loved most about Upgrade was the tone I mentioned above. From the start of the film I felt like I was watching one of those low budget cult classics from the late 1970's and early 1980's. There's a tone heavy/synthesizer-like score from Jed Palmer that clued me into what type of movie I was going to be seeing from the start. The story takes place in the somewhat near or distant future and had this cool retro sci-fi appearance and design. The story comes across as a sort of sci-fi noir revenge film. I was instantly thinking of Blade Runner, Terminator, and Escape From New York... and some Robocop for flavor. It felt like a love letter to those films that I grew up watching and still love to this day.
The Action/Brutality. The movie starts off fairly calm. Even the inciting incident isn't as harsh or as violent as it could've been. But then we get to Grey's initial confrontation with one of the assailants and the movie jumps to a whole new level. The movie doesn't hold anything back as Grey slices open the villain's mouth, all on camera. Leading up to that moment there's some intense fight choreography and even a little touch of Evil Dead II (Ash assaulted by his possessed hand), which sent me reeling. I loved it. I didn't feel the rest of the movie achieved such heights as this scene but it didn't disappoint.
The Camerawork. Another of the aspects that really stands out in the film is the stylized camera shots when Grey lets Stem take over. Not only was it very well done but it gave the film a unique signature.
NITPICKS
Not going far enough. I really did enjoy this film as a whole and I am just glad it exists. If there was anything more that I wanted out of it, it would've been higher intensity. The movie already is intense as hell, but like I said above, I feel the film achieves its highest moment in the middle. I just wish the following action scenes would've increased the intensity a tiny bit more, that's all, like Grey and Fisk cutting on each other a bit more. Regardless, I am very happy with this movie as a whole.
THE VERDICT
Upgrade is one of those films that calls back to the sights and sounds that made you the fan of films that you are today. It has a cult classic sci-fi horror feel and some epic action and brutality. There's cool camerawork and an awesome retro score. The movie was made on a tiny budget and does some truly great things with it. If there's any justice in the universe we should get a sequel. If not, well, this is one of those movies that will achieve a cult classic status alongside the films that inspired it. I loved it. Go see it and tell everyone how cool it is!
Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10
Really Good! One Worth Owning!
Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10
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