After flexing his horror muscles as the writer of the first three Saw films, the Insidious series, and director of Insidious: Chapter 3, Leigh Whannell is trying something slightly different for his next feature. With new Blumhouse film Upgrade, he’s plugging action and sci-fi modules into his existing skill-set, helming a violent b-movie that looks part Terminator, part Robocop, and a whole lot of fun.
The film is set in the near-future and stars Logan Marshall-Green as Grey, a man seeking revenge after the death of his wife and the loss of his motor functions. He opts in to an experimental computer chip spine implant called STEM – and it can do more than just let him walk again, as you can see in the new UK trailer.
With impressive-looking no-holds-barred action sequences (we imagine the film won’t cut away in some of those grislier moments), this is looking like a real throwback treat, blending genres in a similar way to Adam Wingard’s The Guest. There are buddy elements in there too, in the interplay between Grey and STEM – think KITT from Knight Rider, but with more cold, dispassionate bloodshed.
Upgrade has already received positive reviews in the States, and it’s arriving in the UK on 31 August.
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