One of our favorite genre films at SXSW this year was Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade, which is a gore-soaked romp through a future full of artificial enhancements, in which a dude (Logan Marshall-Green), assisted by STEM, an AI implanted in a chip in his neck, murders the fools who killed his wife.
We weren’t alone in our love for it: Crowds at SXSW gave it the Audience Award in the Midnights category and, though we didn’t get a chance to see it with a big ol’ throng of people, we imagine it’ll kill in a theater setting. Well, luckily for you, Blumhouse Tilt dropped the first trailer for it today, and it showcases one of our favorite action scenes from the film. It’s a red-band trailer, so let’s just say that it’s NSFW.
Peep it:
So yeah, how about that? Kind of fun, right? Well, it goes to some pretty extreme places, and it’s meant for the kind of action-movie fan who likes a little grime with their thrills. Whannell’s really great at setting up those particular environments, as evidenced by his previous work with director James Wan (with whom he crafted the Saw franchise), and the horror movie gore is most definitely a welcome addition.
But we’d like to spotlight Marshall-Green, who’s gotten the short end of the stick since his debut all of those years ago alongside other actors who looked a lot like him — Tom Hardy, for one, and Jai Courtney- and who has managed to distinguish himself well by jumping into genre with both feet forward. He’s been in a number of excellent films over the past few years, and hopefully his excellent work in Upgrade will make him stand out even more to the casual viewer. Keep this one on your radar, folks.
Upgrade hits theaters on June 1.
Featured image via BH Tilt and SXSW.