Leigh Whannell helped to create the Saw and Insidious franchises, but for him, perhaps Upgrade is his most frightening film.
The Australian filmmaker’s science-fiction thriller is a cautionary tale about technology literally taking over the body of someone who doesn’t trust it — under the assumption that such science is closer to reality than we realize.
“I’m uncomfortable with the ubiquitous nature of social media and the way it controls us. I’m kind of that guy,” Whannell said during the South by Southwest Film Festival. “It’s really a parallel for the time we’re in.”
Specifically, the story is set in the near future, centering on an auto mechanic (Logan Marshall-Green) who’s averse to new technology, yet becomes a quadriplegic after an accident involving an out-of-control self-driving car that killed his girlfriend. His only hope for normalcy involves implanting an experimental chip inside his body, which turns him into a Terminator-style fighting machine against his will.
“I really liked the idea of a technophobe who’s not comfortable in the world we live in,” Whannell said. “I kind of wanted to see that character become technology. I wanted them to at first see how wonderful it could be. Then there’s this terrifying ride of technology taking over your body.”
To prepare for the physicality of the role, Marshall-Green (Prometheus) spent significant time training with a stunt team for the fight sequences, and also was coached on the characteristics of living as a quadriplegic.
“It was a scary proposition. The thing that terrified me also was the reason I wanted to do it,” Marshall-Green said. “I was drawn to the physical story below and the real emotional story above. We care about this guy even though his body is doing terrible things.”
Whannell, 41, said he became inspired to write the screenplay after reading The Singularity Is Near, inventor and author Ray Kurzweil’s nonfiction book about artificial intelligence.
“When we merge with computers, what does that mean for humanity? People already don’t look up from their phones,” he said. “What happens when the chip is in us and the computer is in control? There’s no better metaphor for that than a quadriplegic suddenly being able to move.”
Although the concept might seem to take place well into the future, Whannell estimates the technology in the film is advanced only about 10-15 years from today.
“The merging of technology and humans is around the corner,” Whannell said. “A lot of sci-fi movies play the tech externally, because it’s more visually interesting to see Iron Man in a suit or flying cars. It’s eye candy. I was interested in the internal technology. But I also wanted to have fun car chases and fight scenes.”
