A Cool Trend In Late 1990s Sci-fi Films

Well, I thought that I’d talk very briefly about a cool trend which showed up in several late 1990s sci-fi movies – such as “Dark City” (1998), “Existenz” (1999), “The Thirteenth Floor” (1999) and “The Matrix” (1999) – but I should probably include a very large SPOILER WARNING for all four of these films before continuing.

Anyway, the main thing that all four of these films have in common is the plot twist that reality might not be as real as the main characters thought. In “Dark City”, the 1930s-style city in the film is revealed to be an artificial city built on an alien space station. In “The Thirteenth Floor”, the 1990s-style setting where the main characters use a virtual reality gadget is itself revealed to be a simulation from the early-mid 21st century.

In “The Matrix”, famously, the 1990s-style world at the beginning of the film is revealed to be a simulation used by sentient robots to enslave humanity. “Existenz” initially seems to be a bit of an outlier here since the main characters are clearly shown entering a virtual world at the beginning of the film – however, in the very final scene, not only is it implied that the beginning was actually part of another simulation but the main characters also find themselves uncertain whether or not they are still in the simulation.

In literally two years, four excellent sci-fi films all used the same plot twist – but they all handled it in creatively different ways to each other. And it’s easy to see why. For starters, it’s a very versatile plot twist which can be handled in all sorts of ways. It’s also inherently dramatic and memorable too. It adds an element of “existential crisis” to a film but in a stylised way which won’t freak the audience out too much – an unusually moderate approach for the edgy late 1990s. Plus, it also instantly adds philosophical depth to a film too.

This is an idea which has existed for a long time, in many different places, before the words “virtual reality” were ever uttered. Whether it is the Advaita Vedanta concept of “māyā”, of physical reality being an illusion. Whether it is Plato’s “Allegory Of The Cave” or whether it is some of the teachings of 20th century mystic Neville Goddard (1905 – 1972), this idea has existed for a very long time in all sorts of different forms. So, even just asking the question instantly adds a ton of depth to a sci-fi film.

Even in the science fiction genre, the topic was being explored by 20th century authors who were writing in times when computers were still bulky mainframes. Philip K. Dick’s 1969 novel “Ubik” is a good example of this. It has been quite a while since I read it, but it is a story that takes place in artificial worlds, where the reality of reality is sometimes brought into question etc…

Also, of course, the 1990s was a time of rapid technological advancement too. It was the sort of decade which began with cartoonish 2D videogames on consoles like the SNES and ended with relatively realistic-looking games on a console like the Dreamcast. It was the decade when CGI started to become a major part of movies. When mobile phones went from being large bricks with aerials to being small things which could be folded in half. When the World Wide Web was opened to the public in 1991 and, by 1999, many shops and places already had websites. It was a decade where technology kept improving and changing.

Yes, virtual reality didn’t even begin to become even vaguely semi-mainstream until the 2010s but, to someone in the 1990s, it probably didn’t seem that far away given the pace of technological change at the time. Not to mention that, as far back as the 1980s, writers like William Gibson were already writing cyberpunk stories (most famously, Gibson’s 1984 novel “Neuromancer”) about virtual worlds too. So, it sort of seemed like the logical extension of all of this and this might be why it showed up in so many sci-fi movies in 1998-1999.

What is really interesting though is how quickly this trend came and went. Perhaps it became too predictable? By the year 2000s, there were still creative works exploring the concept of artificial worlds but they were a lot more open about it than these four films were. Instead of being treated as a plot twist, by 2000, it was being treated as a way to get inside the mind of a single character.

Two excellent examples from 2000 are the sci-fi horror movie “The Cell” and the gothic horror/dark fantasy computer game “American McGee’s Alice“. Both feature stories which take place either mostly or entirely within the mind of one character. Yet, both are completely up-front about this. In “The Cell”, the futuristic mind-sharing technology is explained and you clearly know when the characters are using it. In “American McGee’s Alice”, the game’s introduction shows you that the main character is in a coma and that you will be experiencing her nightmares. There’s no ambiguity or uncertainty about the nature of reality.

Again, it’s interesting how this changed in the space of a single year. Quite a while ago, I saw a Youtube video essay (I can’t remember the address) which suggested that the theme in 1990s Hollywood films of people finding that the world is more than they expected was a bit of a reaction to the relative peace, moderation, stability and prosperity of the decade in the US. The essay suggested that film-makers found this “boring” and thus told these types of stories.

Yet, again, even by 2000 – a year before 9/11 happened – the trend had already started to, if not fade, then change. Even so, although it only really lasted a couple of years, I’m still amazed that there was a time when Hollywood movies actually asked deep questions like these. I mean, out of the films I mentioned at the beginning of the article, only “The Matrix” is famous but even that is still something which is still referenced by people these days. It was a major, blockbuster film.

Yet, these days, a major blockbuster will usually just be a silly superhero film of some kind. Ok, “The Matrix” isn’t a million miles away from that genre either, but it’s still astonishing to think that there was a time – within my own lifetime no less – when major popular blockbuster films could be intelligent sci-fi films that asked deep questions about the nature of reality.

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Anyway, I hope that this was interesting 🙂

Review: “The Thirteenth Floor” (Film)

A couple of months before I wrote this review, I was in a bit of a cyberpunk mood (well, more so than usual) and amongst other things, I ended up buying a second-hand DVD of a film called “The Thirteenth Floor” after seeing it recommended online. I then… left the film in the middle of a pile of DVDs for several weeks.

However, since I seem to be in a “watching films” kind of mood at the moment, I finally got round to watching it and, wow, what a film it is! So, let’s take a long and rambling look at “The Thirteenth Floor”….

But, before I go any further, I should warn you that this review will contain MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS. Sorry, but there’s no way to talk about this complex and intelligent film properly without spoilers.

If you don’t want it spoiled (and it’s really best if you don’t), then all I’ll say is that if you like films like “Blade Runner”, “Ghost In The Shell” (1995) etc.. then this one is worth watching too! Seriously, watch it!

Interestingly, the DVD cover art depicts a moment that is only implied through dialogue in the film. But, the film’s tagline is a massive spoiler though.

“The Thirteenth Floor” is a cyberpunk film noir from 1999 starring Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Dennis Haysbert and Armin Mueller-Stahl.

The film begins in a swanky hotel in Los Angeles, 1937, with a rich old man called Fuller (Mueller-Stahl) writing a letter and handing it to a bartender.

I say! This is quite the evening!

He tells the bartender to give the letter to a man called Douglas Hall, before taking a cab home to his antique shop and falling asleep. As soon as he falls asleep, he wakes up… in 1999. Fuller is, after all, the inventor of a pioneering virtual reality device (that also contains highly advanced artificial intelligence).

Yes, videogames really WERE better in the 90s!

However, something is on Fuller’s mind. He goes to a bar and makes a phone call. But, before he can finish his call, the back door opens and he sees someone outside. He talks briefly with this mysterious man, who then promptly stabs him to death.

The next morning, Douglas Hall (Bierko), a senior member of Fuller’s company receives a call from Detective McBain of the LAPD (Haysbert). McBain has questions about Fuller’s death and considers Hall to be a suspect in the case.

Naturally, their first meeting looks very “Blade Runner” like.

Things become even more complicated when, upon arriving at the company’s offices, Hall and McBain meet Fuller’s daughter Jane (Mol). A daughter that Fuller has never mentioned before.

And, yes, this scene is also fairly “film noir”-like too.

Suspected of murder and puzzled by Jane’s sudden appearance, Hall decides to take a look inside the virtual reality program for some answers…..

One of the first things that I’ll say about this film is… wow! Where do I even begin?

Just like in “Blade Runner”, this film blends cyberpunk and film noir elements in a really interesting way. Not only is the film a really great blend of “classic-style” 1930s noir and gloomier late 1990s film noir, but this is complemented by some great acting, plot twists, set design and hardboiled storytelling. The idea of a man trying to clear his name is a classic staple of the noir genre, and this film puts a really great cyberpunk twist on it.

Fun fact: The computer voice-over in this scene was probably the inspiration for GLADoS from “Portal” (2007). Seriously, their voices sound eerily similar.

Which brings me on to the cyberpunk elements. At it’s core, this is a film about both the ethics of artificial intelligence and the nature of reality. Not only are the AI characters in the virtual 1930s world shown to be just as human as anyone else, but they can also occasionally swap consciousnesses with people in the “real” world too.

The “real world” of 1990s Los Angeles, of course, being another virtual reality simulation run by a couple of people from the 2020s. And, yes, this film came out the same year that “The Matrix” did.

And, despite using less CGI, it still manages to look cooler than “The Matrix”

The idea of swapping consciousnesses is central to this film. Since, when a human isn’t connected to the virtual world, their “character” reverts to their own pre-programmed personality and leads their own (very different) life, often experiencing the change as a disturbing bout of amnesia.

This also allows for some “Jekyll and Hyde”-style storylines later in the film (which is foreshadowed by, for example, how a mild-mannered IT guy’s virtual 1930s character is actually a violent criminal).

Yes, this guy is much better offline than online…

In addition to all of this, the consciousness swapping also allows the film to introduce elements of “the uncanny” too by, for example, having a “good” character suddenly get taken over by an evil personality (without the other characters realising until a little while later).

Like “Blade Runner” and “Ghost In The Shell” (1995), this is a film about the nature of humanity. It poses the question of whether a suitably advanced computer program really is that different to human consciousness. But, it even goes further and suggests that it may even occasionally be better than human consciousness. The film’s main villain, of course, being a person from the 2020s who treats the simulation like it’s.. well… a videogame.

Likewise, at one point, another character from the 2020s comments that the film’s version of 1990s LA is the only simulation where the characters have made their own simulation. This taps into the idea that creativity is an essential part of humanity. This theme is later explored through the fact that the film’s main villain has become drunk with the power that this offers him. Likewise, the last line of dialogue from the 1990s is when McBain tells the people from the future to leave the simulation alone – as if the computer program is actually a real, living, place.

Plus, the first text in the film is a famous quote from Descartes.

In addition to all of this, by being a film about a simulation within a simulation, this film taps into the idea of an “unreliable reality“. Whilst this trope is used more often in the horror genre, it is used to great effect in this film too. This includes things like an AI character from the 1930s freaking out slightly when he realises that his world isn’t real (which also foreshadows the film’s main twist too).

Seriously, I cannot praise the plotting in this film well enough! There so many clever little hints towards the main twist (like an old arcade game with a broken part etc…).

Likewise, even the film’s artificial 1930s setting contains some very subtle and intentional “modern” anachronisms too – such as a man from 1937 talking about how he served in “World War One” (even though the second world war hadn’t happened yet). Or the fact that the panel of judges at a lindy hop competition is briefly shown to be more diverse than they probably would be in pre-civil rights America.

Seriously, at the time of writing, I’ve only seen this film once and I’ve probably missed loads more subtle stuff. Seriously, I’d bet that there’s probably some subtle 2020s-style stuff hidden in the film’s 1990s locations.

Hmm… maybe it’s “hiding in plain sight”?

Another interesting thing about this film is that, although it is very much a cyberpunk film, it also subverts the tropes of the genre slightly too. When we eventually glimpse the future world of 2024, it isn’t a grimy, neon-lit futuristic dystopia. Although it is visually implied that climate change has caused sea levels to rise, the future is presented as a bright, happy utopia.

Well, I wasn’t expecting THIS…

In the cyberpunk genre, virtual reality is often presented as an escape from the grim realities of life. It is also something that gives power to the downtrodden (eg: “hacker” protagonists etc..) and it is often something that is shown to be “better than life”. However, in the utopian future of this film, virtual reality just seems to be a way for people to add a bit of thrilling danger and grittiness to their otherwise happy and peaceful lives. It’s a really clever twist on a familiar element of the cyberpunk genre.

In terms of the lighting and set design, this film is brilliant! Whilst the set design is mostly more “film noir” than “cyberpunk”, there are some really cool location designs.

For example, Hall’s apartment is quite literally a homage to Deckard’s apartment from “Blade Runner” – even down to the old photos and the Ennis House-style tiles on the walls (plus, the fact that Hall isn’t a “real” person could also be a reference to the “Deckard is a replicant” theory about Blade Runner too. HOW did I not notice this foreshadowing?!).

As soon as I saw those tiles, I knew that I was going to love this film! I can’t believe it’s not “Blade Runner” 🙂

And the lighting! Seriously, there’s everything from ominous red and blue lighting to more futuristic green lighting. People certainly knew how to use lighting well in the 1990s!

And just take a look at this gorgeously vintage hotel!

Whilst it lacks the complex, neon-drenched futuristic locations of a film like “Blade Runner”, the set design here is still absolutely gorgeous. So is the lighting too. Seriously, this film may not be the artistic masterpiece that “Blade Runner” is, but it certainly comes close at times!

All in all, this is an intelligent, well-made, complex cyberpunk film that manages to cram more into it’s lean 96 minute running time (seriously, I miss the days when films actually had editors) than many films could even dream of.

Like with many great works in the cyberpunk genre, it is filled with philosophical complexity, emotional complexity and narrative complexity. Yes, it isn’t quite as good as “Blade Runner”. But, this is like saying that an amazing piece of art isn’t quite as good as the Mona Lisa.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get a five.