''Upgrade'' is a 2018
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
written and directed by
Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell (; is an Australian screenwriter, actor, film producer, and film director. He is best known for writing films directed by his friend James Wan, including ''Saw'' (2004), ''Dead Silence'' (2007), ''Insidious'' (2010), and '' Insid ...
and starring
Logan Marshall-Green
Logan Marshall-Green (born November 1, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his roles in the television series ''24 (TV series), 24'', ''The O.C.'', ''Traveler (2007 TV series), Traveler'', ''Dark Blue (TV series), Dark Blue' ...
,
Betty Gabriel, and
Harrison Gilbertson
Harrison Gilbertson (born 29 June 1993) is an Australian actor.
Early life
Gilbertson was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of Julie Sloan and Brian Gilbertson.
Career
Gilbertson began acting at the age of six when he played the chara ...
. The film follows a
technophobe
Technophobia (from Greek τέχνη ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φόβος ''phobos'', "fear"), also known as technofear, is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers. Although there are numerou ...
who is implanted with a chip that allows him to control his body after a mugging left him
paralyzed
Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...
. The film was produced by
Jason Blum
Jason Ferus Blum "Jason Ferus Blum was born in LA in 1969 to Shirley Neilsen, an art professor, and Irving Blum, an art dealer" (; born 1969) is an American film and television producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, whic ...
, under his
Blumhouse Productions
Blumhouse Productions (; also known as BH Productions or simply BH) is an American film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum.
It is known mainly for producing horror films, such as ''Paranormal Activity'', ''Insidio ...
banner.
After premiering on 10 March 2018 at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
, the film was released on 1 June 2018 in the United States by
OTL Releasing and Blumhouse Tilt, and on 14 June 2018 in Australia. The film received positive reviews from critics, who called it "one part ''
The Six Million Dollar Man
''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is reb ...
'', one part ''
Death Wish
Death Wish or Deathwish may refer to:
Common meanings
*Suicidal ideation, term for thoughts about killing oneself
*Death drive, term in Freudian psychiatry
Arts and entertainment Radio
*"Death Wish", a 1957 episode of the radio series ''X Minus ...
'' revenge fantasy", and praised the film's dark humor and action sequences.
Plot
Grey Trace, an auto mechanic, lives with his wife Asha who works for Cobolt, one of the companies contributing to human-computer augmentations. Grey asks Asha to help him return a refurbished car to his client Eron Keen, a renowned tech innovator. While visiting his home, Eron reveals his latest creation, a chip called STEM that can manage a human's motor functions.
Returning home, Grey and Asha's self-driving car malfunctions and crashes. Four men kill Asha and shoot Grey in the neck, severing his spinal cord. Grey returns home months later as a wheelchair-using quadriplegic, under the care of his mother, Pamela. Asha's death and the inability of Det. Cortez to identify their attackers causes Grey to sink into depression. After a suicide attempt, he is visited by Eron, who convinces him to accept a STEM implant.
Grey regains control of his limbs and Eron has Grey sign a non-disclosure agreement, requiring Grey to pretend to still be paralyzed. While looking through a drone video feed of his wife's murder, Grey hears STEM speak in his mind. STEM says it can help Grey get revenge and quickly identifies one of the assailants, Serk Brantner, from the video.
Grey breaks into Serk's home and finds proof Serk was "upgraded" through a secret military experiment, also connecting Serk to a local bar called the Old Bones. Serk arrives and attacks Grey, but STEM convinces Grey to temporarily give up control of his body, allowing STEM to turn Grey into a lethally efficient fighting machine, killing Serk with little effort. Cortez later sees drone footage of Grey's wheelchair approaching Serk's house, but his paralysis negates him as a suspect.
Eron has tracked STEM's movements and berates Grey for his vigilantism. Grey reveals STEM is speaking to him, which appears to surprise Eron. Eron demands that Grey stop his investigation.
Grey proceeds to the Old Bones and finds Tolan, another of the assailants. Grey allows STEM to torture Tolan to get the name of the assailants' ringleader, Fisk. Leaving the bar, Grey stumbles, and STEM informs him that Eron is attempting to shut them down remotely. STEM directs Grey to a nearby hacker, Jamie, who manages to remove STEM's input guard, then leaves just as Fisk and a companion arrives. Grey, with STEM's control restored, kills Fisk's companion.
Grey returns home only for Pamela to see him walking, forcing him to reveal STEM's existence. Cortez arrives to interrogate them after finding Grey's wheelchair suspiciously abandoned at the Old Bones. She leaves after planting a listening device on Grey's jacket. Grey wishes to give up the hunt, but STEM explains that if they do then Fisk will track them down and kill them. STEM reveals that the hack now allows it to control Grey's body even without Grey's permission. STEM uses Grey to drive to Fisk, causing an automated car to malfunction and crash into Cortez', who is tailing them. Cortez returns to Grey's home, where Pamela explains STEM.
Grey and STEM find Fisk, who reveals that Grey's wife was not the main target. Rather Fisk was hired to paralyze Grey so he could be implanted. Fisk's own upgrades outpace Grey's STEM-controlled movements. But when Grey taunts Fisk with the death of Serk, his brother, Fisk reacts emotionally allowing STEM to gain the upper hand and kill Fisk. Fisk's phone reveals messages from Eron, suggesting he'd orchestrated all the events.
Grey storms Eron's home, killing all personnel in his path, but is held at gunpoint by Cortez before he can kill Eron. Eron confesses how STEM forced him to do its bidding, having long since come to dominate all aspects of Eron's life in pursuit of its goal to become human. STEM kills Eron and attempts to kill Cortez, but Grey fights for control over his own body, managing to shoot himself.
Grey wakes up in a hospital room, not paralyzed. Asha explains he has been unconscious for two days following their crash. In reality, Grey is still in Eron's home. STEM, in full control, explains to Cortez that the psychological strain has finally broken Grey's mind; this was STEM's objective all along, as this allowed STEM to assume control over Grey's mind and body. Grey's consciousness believes the idyllic dream state it has found, while STEM kills Cortez and leaves.
Cast
Production
![Leigh Whannell](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Leigh_Whannell.jpg)
The film was originally titled ''STEM''.
Whannell wrote the first draft at least six years before making the film.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
on the film began in March 2017 in Whannell's hometown of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. The chase scene taking place on the southern section of the
Craigieburn bypass
Hume Freeway
Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route ...
(M31) goes the opposite direction to what would have been normal traffic flow to appear that it was filmed in a left hand drive country. Editing took place in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
Logan Marshall-Green based Grey's movement while under STEM's control on that of the character
Zenyatta
Zenyatta (foaled April 1, 2004) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic and Breeders' Cup Distaff and 19 of her 20 starts. She was the 2010 American Horse of the Year, and Champion Older Female in 2008, ...
in the video game ''
Overwatch
''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: ''Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games fea ...
''.
Cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
Stefan Duscio shot the film with
Arri
The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. Hermann Simon menti ...
Alexa XT and
Alexa Mini cameras and
Panavision
Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during ...
C- and E-Series
anamorphic lenses.
The unusual camerawork during the fight scenes was achieved by attaching a phone to Marshall-Green and having the Alexa Mini track the
gyroscope
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...
of the phone.
Release
After premiering on 10 March 2018 at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
and winning the Midnighters Award,
the film was released on 1 June in the United States, and 14 June in Australia by
Blumhouse Tilt.
''Upgrade'' is set up for retail in 2 packages, Blu-ray with Digital HD & DVD on 28 August 2018.
Reception
Box office
In the United States, ''Upgrade'' was released on 1 June 2018, alongside ''
Adrift
Adrift may refer to:
Media
* Adrift (band), a Tampa, Florida-based American heavy rock band
* ''Adrift'' (video game), a first-person adventure video game
* "Adrift", a song by God Is an Astronaut from the album '' Ghost Tapes #10''
Film
* ''A ...
'' and ''
Action Point
''Action Point'' is a 2018 American comedy film directed by Tim Kirkby and starring Johnny Knoxville and Chris Pontius, both of whom had worked together on '' Jackass''. Knoxville was inspired to make the film after seeing Matt Robertson's 201 ...
'', and was projected to gross around $3 million from 1,457 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up debuting slightly above estimates with $4.6 million and finished sixth at the box office. It was the second best opening for a BH Tilt film, after ''
The Darkness'' $4.95 million in 2016.
It made $2.2 million in its second weekend, finishing ninth.
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Like its augmented protagonist, ''Upgrade''s old-fashioned innards get a high-tech boost–one made even more powerful thanks to sharp humor and a solidly well-told story." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 67 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
PostTrak
PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios.
History
The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film a ...
gave the film a 78% overall positive score and a 46% "definite recommend".
In ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
(UK)'' Ed Potton muses, "apart from a few flimsy special effects... this is a satire that cleaves dangerously close to reality at times." Emily Yoshida, writing for ''New York'' magazine's blog ''Vulture'', said, "A great and grimy little screw-turner of sci-fi schlock, the kind that they truly don't make anymore, the kind that would make
Carpenter
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...
and
Cameron proud." In a less positive review, Charles Bramesco of ''The Guardian'' said, "While Whannell wrestles with warring desires to fret over the techno oblivion we're hurtling towards or have a laugh about it, that conflict manifests in a disappointing tonal clash that robs the film of the low-rent fun it could be having."
Accolades
Television series
Leigh Whannell explained that the film was written as a standalone film without any expectations of a sequel. Based on prerelease tracking, Whannell said a sequel was unlikely.
On 16 August 2018, producer Jason Blum said he had plans for a potential sequel. In February 2020, Leigh Whannell expressed enthusiasm for making a follow-up, saying "I loved making that film, so I'd love to do it with a bit more money." Blum restated that he "would love an ''Upgrade'' sequel" and that although there were no immediate plans, it was something on both of their minds.
In May 2020, it was reported that the sequel was being reworked into a television series, with Whannell, in addition to directing the series, would co-create the series alongside Tim Walsh, who will serve as showrunner and both men will serve as executive producers.
Blumhouse Television
Blumhouse Productions (; also known as BH Productions or simply BH) is an American film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum.
It is known mainly for producing horror films, such as ''Paranormal Activity'', ''Insidio ...
is set to produce the series alongside
UCP, who have set up a writers room. The plot of the series is that it is set a few years after the events of the film, with an evolved version of STEM and new host, with the government using STEM as a way to curb criminal activity.
See also
*
List of body horror media
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Leigh Whannell
2018 horror films
2010s satirical films
Australian action thriller films
Australian science fiction action films
Australian science fiction thriller films
Australian satirical films
American action thriller films
American science fiction action films
American science fiction thriller films
American satirical films
Android (robot) films
Blumhouse Productions films
Drone films
American dystopian films
Films about artificial intelligence
Films about paraplegics or quadriplegics
American films about revenge
Films directed by Leigh Whannell
Films with screenplays by Leigh Whannell
Films produced by Jason Blum
Films set in the future
Films shot in Melbourne
Cyborg films
Cyberpunk films
American neo-noir films
Australian films about revenge
Techno-thriller films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films