The Outlaws
2017South Korea★ 7.74.5 pt match
Both films sit with rage. They share the same lens on class and money and corrupt institutions. Same energy: dark comedy, brutal, escalating, and relentless.
Upgrade
2018USALanguage: EnglishDirected by Leigh Whannell★ 7.5
A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure — an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility — skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.
Themes and style
Tone
bleakbrutaltensedark comedy
Pacing
escalatingrelentless
Story
pursuitsurvivalinvestigationunraveling
Emotion
griefragefiguring out who you areloss of innocencefeeling powerless
Themes
old ways vs. new worldclass and moneycorrupt institutions
Feel
catharticgut punchrewatchableexhausting
Violence
graphicWhere to watch
Foreign films like Upgrade
These foreign films share the same emotional core, themes, and structural feel as Upgrade. Every one of them has confirmed English subtitles or dubbing.
Ghajini
2008India★ 74.5 pt match
What ties these together is grief, rage, and loss of innocence. They share the same lens on corrupt institutions and class and money. The feel is the same: brutal, tense, and escalating.
Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1
2012India★ 7.14.5 pt match
Both films sit with rage, grief, and figuring out who you are. Both circle the same ground: class and money and corrupt institutions. The feel is the same: brutal, dark comedy, and escalating.
Django
1966Italy★ 7.24.5 pt match
Like Upgrade, this one is rooted in rage and grief. They share the same lens on class and money. Same energy: bleak, brutal, and escalating.
The Man from Nowhere
2010South Korea★ 7.74 pt match
Like Upgrade, this one is rooted in grief and loss of innocence. Both circle the same ground: corrupt institutions and class and money. Both move the same way too, bleak, brutal, and escalating.
Punisher: War Zone
2008Germany★ 5.94 pt match
What ties these together is rage. The world both films live in revolves around corrupt institutions and class and money. Same energy: brutal, dark comedy, relentless, and escalating.
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
2019South Korea★ 7.93.5 pt match
Both films sit with rage and figuring out who you are. They share the same lens on corrupt institutions and class and money. Same energy: tense, dark comedy, escalating, and relentless.