Review of Upgrade (2018) by Alan W — 04 Sep 2018

Logan Marshall-Green, coming across like a B-movie Tom Hardy, plays Grey Trace (not the best lead character name ever, but I digress), a man left quadriplegic after a horrible incident in the near-future but is given a chance to walk again and even seek revenge on those responsible with an experimental computer implant in his spine.

Things become more Death Wishy when the computer chip begins to communicate, HAL-like, with him, and its persuasive ways soon lead Grey down a much more sinister and violent path. Even though those who's familiar with the sci-fi tech thriller genre would probably guess some, if not all, of the outcome, this has enough distractions and smokescreens to make it fun and engaging enough and ticks enough boxes for it to work.

Made on a smallish budget which shows but not necessarily in a cheap way, this Blumhouse film from writer-director Leigh Whannel, is essentially an extended episode of Black Mirror with the gore factor turned up a few notches, even though it never goes full horror, at least not in the way you expect from the guy who dreamt up the Saw and Insidious franchises.

Undemanding and silly but the storytelling packs a punch where it counts, with a decent ending that sidesteps contrivance into an agreeably darker place.