Upgrade(2018)

Pooper:
It turns out that STEM is self aware and orchestrated all events in the film to be implanted into Grey’s body and become “human.” Grey unsuccessfully tries to assert control over STEM, and upon losing, STEM takes full control of Grey’s body. Stem kills Eron and Detective Cortez before leaving to start its own life.

Long Ending:
In the near future, technology has advanced to the point where many blue collar jobs have been eliminated and people are modifying their bodies to incorporate technology. This has caused a rift between the wealthy techno-elite and the poor non-technological class. Grey (Logan Marshall-Green) comes from a poor background and still works as a mechanic for non-self driving cars. He is married to Asha, who works for a leading tech company. Despite their differing opinions on technology, they have a loving marriage.

Asha and Grey drive to the home of Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson), who ordered a classic car from Grey. Eron is working on a project called STEM, which will allow a computer program to perfectly merge with a human. On their way home, their car is hacked and attacked by four armed assailants. The assailants sever Grey’s spinal cord, paralyzing him from the neck down. They also murder Asha. Grey succumbs to a deep depression when he is visited by Eron in the hospital. Eron offers to implant STEM into Grey, which will allow him to walk again. In exchange, Grey promises to keep the experiment confidential (as regulators have nor cleared Eron to implant STEM). Grey reluctantly agrees to the procedure.

Grey undergoes surgery and is able to walk again, though pretends to be wheelchair-bound pursuant to his agreement with Eron. Grey meets with Detective Cortez (Betty Gabriel) to discuss the investigation into his wife’s murder, and she gives him copy of the video of the attack to see if he recognizes anything. While watching the video, STEM “talks” to Grey (only Grey can hear STEM since STEM is just sending messages into Grey’s mind). STEM enhances Grey’s vision to the point that he is able to identify a tattoo on one of the attackers. Grey uses the tattoo to identify the attacker. He breaks into the attacker’s home to gather more clues, but is ultimately ambushed when the attacker returns home. Grey gives control of his body to STEM, who proceeds to use its enhanced perception, body control, and knowledge brutally kill the attacker.

It is discovered that the attackers were former military who had been displaced by machines. They have had their bodies upgraded to have guns implanted in their arms. Grey and STEM vow to hunt down and kill the other three attackers. STEM informs Grey, however, that when Eron realizes what they are up to (and Grey’s violation of confidentiality), he will deactivate STEM. After killing a second attacker, they go to a hacker who removes Eron’s control and failsafe measures from STEM. The other two attackers track Grey down, and Grey and STEM manage to kill a third attacker.

Detective Cortez begins to suspect that Grey is somehow killing these people and constantly interrogates him to try and find out how he’s doing it. Grey hunts down the final attacker and they kill him too. Before the attacker dies, he reveals that Eron hired them to attack Grey and his wife. Grey theorizes that Eron targeted them because Asha worked for his competitor. He goes off to kill Eron. Detective Cortez (who planted a non-electronic recording device on Grey) pursues.

Grey invades Eron’s home and kills his bodyguards. A terrified Eron then reveals that the actual mastermind was… STEM. Eron explains that STEM became self-aware and decided it needed a body. It identified Grey as the perfect host because he hadn’t otherwise enhanced his body with other tech and because Eron was in contact with him. In having the hacker dispose of the restrictions programmed into it, Eron has no way to control STEM. Eron also assisted STEM as STEM had taken control of Eron’s company.

Detective Cortez arrives and STEM declares its intent to kill them both (it wants to kill Eron as he is the only one who could build a rival to STEM, and Detective Cortez for knowing of STEM’s existence). STEM then forcibly begins taking control of Grey’s body (prior to this, STEM could only control the body with Grey’s permission). Grey attempts to resist STEM’s control and then…

Grey awakens in a hospital bed just after the attack. He has been in a coma and Asha walks in. The two happily embrace…

And we cut into the real world. It turns out STEM has overwhelmed Grey’s consciousness and essentially placed Grey’s mind into a simulation within his own brain. With nobody left to resist it and in total control of Grey’s body, STEM kills Eron and Detective Cortez before walking away victorious.