¡QUÉ HORROR! 2019
Candidate #13
(March 2018)
“I would like to introduce you to my present and the rest of the world’s future.
“I call it ‘Stem.’”
It’s been just over 15 years (Seriously?! 15?!) since Leigh Whannell burst onto
the horror scene alongside James Wan with Saw.
And while Wan has gone on to direct titles outside
the horror genre like Furious 7 and Aquaman (both of which crossed the $ 1
billion(!) threshold at the box office), Whannell has largely stayed within its
confines, also helping birth the Insidious
franchise with long-time collaborator Wan.
He then tried out the director’s chair on Insidious: Chapter 3.
Thankfully, he seems to have enjoyed that
experience, enough that he’s given us his sophomore feature, Upgrade.*
“I am Stem. The system operating your body for you.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Set in the near-future, where technology has become
even more all-encompassing than it already is today, Grey Trace (an excellent Logan Marshall-Green) suddenly
finds himself a quadriplegic after a vicious attack.
Bitter and despondent, he’s given a chance to walk
again by wealthy tech mogul Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson, who was in Amazon’s
recent TV adaptation of Picnic at Hanging
Rock).
But what could have been a second chance at a
normal life becomes a bloody vengeance spree with the help of Grey’s new best
friend, Stem.
“You now have full control again, Grey.”
Upgrade’s trailer suggests a balls to
the wall sci-fi actioner, and the film proves to be that, an occasionally wild
and exhilarating ride as Whannell executes some visual acrobatics to convey to
the audience Grey’s tech-enhanced mobility. (It should be noted that Upgrade went home with the Midnighters
Audience Award from the 2018 South by Southwest Film Festival.)
But the film is also spiced up with some gory kills
and a potent streak of techno horror, as we get exposed to the fears and
anxieties of how technology can impact on our humanity, on both individual and
societal levels.
And that streak is wide and prevalent enough to
land Upgrade onto this year’s ¡Qué horror! Candidates list.
“I’m sorry. We can’t let them win.”
* He’s also signed on to write and direct a new
iteration of The Invisible Man, as
well as tackle a remake of Escape from
New York (for which he’s writing the script with the possibility of
directing also open).
Parting Shot 1:
Reviews for Saw
(and Saw IV) can be found here
(and here); Insidious made the
Candidates list in the ¡Qué horror! 2011 rundown.
More Logan Marshall-Green can be found in ¡Qué horror! 2011 Candidate Devil and ¡Qué horror! 2016 title The Invitation.
Parting Shot 2:
Get Out's very own Georgina, Betty Gabriel, appears here as Detective Cortez.
She's also currently starring in Season 2 of the brilliant, sci fi-tinged espionage show, Counterpart.
Parting Shot 2:
Get Out's very own Georgina, Betty Gabriel, appears here as Detective Cortez.
She's also currently starring in Season 2 of the brilliant, sci fi-tinged espionage show, Counterpart.
(Upgrade
OS courtesy of impawards.com.)
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