Cauchemar virtuel

The Congress (2013) claims to be inspired by Stanislaw Lem's novel, but this movie is much closer and is a much better movie. You should also watch The Thirteenth Floor (1999) and Star Trek Voyager S02E03 Projections.

On viewing Virtual Nightmare numerous other films came to mind. Total Recall, The Stepford Wives, The Wizard of Oz and also The Matrix. Despite this, the film did not seem that derivative and for me exists in its own right as an original.

The premise underlying the film was more believable to me than The Matrix, which I could not take seriously. The fact that there were no really big names in the film added to the charm and I was not focused on a Bruce being Bruce, or Arnie being Arnie. I could concentrate on the film itself rather than the star.

There were a few surprises along the way and I never lost interest for a minute. Though having said that there were some gaps in the plot and the ending was ultimately a little unsatisfactory, in the same way that Total Recall was. It was not quite up to the high standard of what had gone before.

The film seemed to convey to me the dangers of over eager consumerism and small-minded indifference to anything beyond our own doorstep. I would certainly watch it a second time in the near future and maybe again sometime in the distant future, but for me it is not a film to watch over and over again. Highly enjoyable though and evidence that you do not need a huge budget or a big name to create something worthwhile.

I liked this movie. I'll even admit that I watched it twice back to back just to take it all in. There's no top Hollywood named stars, no big explosions, no over the top special effects, just a neat little story line that keeps a person interested, and maybe even guessing a little bit.

I enjoyed how they mixed the flavor of the 1950s with the technology of the 2000s. The underlying message seeming to be that that's how people in the future would create their own reality if they could. Car enthusiasts will love their concept of car buying. I don't want to explain too much about the movie's plot line in fear of taking some of the fun of discovery out of it. Suffice to say, if you like the idea of the possibilities of virtual reality, the wackiness of the 1950's stereotypes, and your sci-fi lite, give this movie a try.

Last note. There were a few plot holes in my opinion but nothing major, and nothing I couldn't come up with an explanation for on my own. My only real complaint is that I had to watch this movie on a tape of commercial television because it doesn't appear to be available on DVD. I'd buy a copy if it were. It's a keeper.

The idyllic existence of Fairview advertising executive Michael Muhney is upset by bad dreams and disturbing visions. He's unknowingly experiencing a reality-check in a bracing post-apocalyptic Matrix riff from Australia (which explains the unfamiliar cast). A faceless corporation called Arora has wallpapered-over the real world with pacifying signals sent direct to the brain: this is a world where you can buy a new car every day at 1950s prices and your unflaggingly cheerful parents talk in reassuring platitudes, a place where Kurt Cobain sings children's songs and Marilyn Monroe makes movies with Leonardo DiCaprio. Mixing paint-box colours with grimy black-and-white, director Michael Pattinson conjures up a delusional universe that repels and attracts in equal measure. This curious picture lifts good ideas from impeccable sources: the too-perfect nostalgic small-town setting of Pleasantville, the sealed perimeters of The Thirteenth Floor, the out-of-wack office of The Truman Show, the on-screen catalogue tags of Fight Club, the paintings of Rene Magritte. Even though it's consistently engaging, like so many Outer Limits-style tales, the more it's explained, the less interesting it becomes. This could be because the dialogue sounds as though it's been lifted wholesale from comic-book speech-bubbles. Even so, the conflicting ideas gnaw: Socrates' assertion that the unexamined life is not worth living is all very well, but would we want to know the truth if the truth is unbearable?

VIRTUAL NIGHTMARE is a pretty interesting, low budget TV movie heavily indebted to the likes of TOTAL RECALL, THE TRUMAN SHOW, and inevitably, THE MATRIX. It tells the story of an ordinary guy, a young professional, who begins to notice unusual 'glitches' in his everyday life - glitches that eventually convince him he's living a lie...

The concept of people living in a fantasy, virtual reality-style world is a familiar one, but it's the execution that makes VIRTUAL NIGHTMARE so engaging. Sure, the year 2000 special effects are dated, but scenes where the protagonist views 'tagged' items of furniture and the like are decent and well-handled. The acting is the worst thing about this, but it's not really important when the concept is the most interesting part of it. Ignore the low-rent antics and the frequent cheesiness of the narrative; focus instead on an engaging and unique little tale, one that's well told.