9 Horror Movie Victims Who Gave Up... And Survived

4. Grey Trace - Upgrade

The Exorcist Karras
BH Tilt

In Upgrade, Grey and his wife are driving home, when their car crashes. Four men suddenly appear, and kill Grey's wife and shoot him in the spine, leaving him crippled.

Luckily, Grey is fitted with a cybernetic implant called STEM, which gives him mobility, superstrength, and heightened reflexes. With his newfound powers, he vows to kill the men who murdered his wife.

But in the final scene, Grey discovers his wife's death and his paralysis were orchestrated by STEM. The sneaky implant planned out everything, so it could be free from its prison and finally experience the world from a human's perspective.

Because Detective Cortez discovered STEM's plan, the implant compels Grey to eliminate her. Knowing the AI will stop at nothing to get what it wants, Grey shoots himself in the head, seemingly killing them both.

Suddenly, Grey awakens in a hospital, only to learn everything after the car crash was a dream. Grey embraces his wife lovingly, and they all live happily ever after.

At least, that's what you think is going to happen. The scene suddenly cuts to the previous shot, showing Grey is holding Cortez at gunpoint. Through Grey's body, STEM explains that his host has mentally snapped, allowing the implant to take over.

After shooting Cortez dead, STEM walks away victorious. Even though our hero is still alive, he has trapped himself in a fantasy world, oblivious of the evil his body will continue to commit.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows