‘The Matrix’ Overshadowed This Underrated Sci-Fi Movie from the Same Year

If you look at the definitive movies of the ’90s, even narrowing it down further to 1999, one film near the top of most people’s minds would be The Matrix. The Wachowskis pushed the boundaries of special effects, but it is the reality-bending story that became integrated into pop culture and brought the discussion of alternative realities to the mainstream. The film even predates Nick Bostrom’s “simulation argument,” the 2003 paper that popularized the idea that humanity may already be living in a simulation.

However, another movie released the same year as The Matrix tackled the idea of alternative realities: The Thirteenth Floor. Released just under two months after The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor was overshadowed by the much more popular, genre-defining sci-fi movie and remained relatively obscure. Yet the movie has become an enduring cult favorite, and it might have found a far bigger audience with a different release window. Here is everything you need to know about The Thirteenth Floor, the film that lives in the shadow of The Matrix.

The Reality-Bending Sci-Fi Mystery of ‘The Thirteenth Floor’

A brilliant computer scientist in LA, Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl), has crafted a one-of-a-kind virtual reality set in 1937, with its sentient inhabitants unaware of their artificial existence. Yet, shortly after the construction of the alternative LA, Fuller is murdered, and signs start to point to his protégé, Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko), as the murderer. Douglas starts to doubt his innocence as he begins to experience odd phenomena related to virtual reality. This causes him to dive into the world created by his mentor to solve the murder, aided by Fuller’s estranged daughter, Jane (Gretchen Mol), with whom he begins to build a romantic relationship.

What most viewers never realize is that the premise long predates 1999. The Thirteenth Floor is loosely adapted from Daniel F. Galouye’s 1964 novel Simulacron-3, and functions as a remake of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1973 German miniseries World on a Wire. The connection runs deeper than rights: producer Michael Ballhaus, later Martin Scorsese’s regular cinematographer, shot the Fassbinder version himself before helping bring this one to the screen.

The Thirteenth Floor, while lacking the same budget as the blockbuster that was The Matrix, did have the backing of Centropolis Entertainment, a studio founded by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow). The movie was co-written and directed by Josef Rusnak, who worked with Emmerich as second unit director on the maligned 1998 Godzilla movie; The Thirteenth Floor remains his most popular and well-received work. Not to downplay the cast or their performances (which are phenomenal), but neither Craig Bierko nor Gretchen Mol was a household name at a time when star power was (arguably) more essential to a film’s overall success.

Besides offering what was meant to be an eye-opening interpretation of alternative realities only to come out after The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor also came up against Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace at the box office. Unsurprisingly, the movie would only gross $18.5 million worldwide from a budget of around $16 million; considering other costs like marketing, the film’s performance was underwhelming. Unfavorable comparisons to The Matrix had critics hostile toward the feature; it currently sits on Rotten Tomatoes at 29% with 63 critic scores. Yet other rating aggregate sites reflect the film’s subsequent cult appreciation, with IMDb rating it 7.0/10 and Letterboxd 3.3/5. In a final indignity, the movie earned a Saturn Award nomination for Best Science Fiction Film in 2000, only to lose to The Matrix.

Similarities and Differences Between ‘The Thirteenth Floor’ and ‘The Matrix’

The following contains light spoilers for The Thirteenth Floor

Critics were quick to make unfavorable comparisons to The Matrix, despite production windows indicating that both films were developed simultaneously, most likely with neither team aware of the other. They also did so despite the movies having as many differences as similarities. Both films deal with alternative realities, with characters caught up in them and uncovering greater fundamental truths about their existence. Neo learns this early in the film, whereas The Thirteenth Floor builds up to this at the film’s conclusion.

Tonally, the films are separated by budget, but they do have some slight similarities that tie them together. While green was the color of code and computer graphics during that period across various media, both movies utilize a similar color palette and dark atmosphere: The Matrix is more sleek, while The Thirteenth Floor is more noir, but both linger in the same aesthetic realm of computer-inspired environments. Perhaps the most significant connection is the films’ exploration of grander philosophical themes and humanity’s growing relationship with technology, which remain relevant in a modern context.

Yet the ways the films deviate from one another make for drastically different experiences. The Matrix is more action-oriented, backed by a budget roughly four times bigger than The Thirteenth Floor at $63 million. The setting is also different: The Matrix’s dark dystopian world is integral to its world-building, while The Thirteenth Floor alternates between two distinct yet familiar realities. Finally, how the two movies approach the morality behind our relationship with technology varies. The Thirteenth Floor is more laser-focused on ‘simulation theory’ ideas and does not touch on more significant social and religious conundrums like in The Matrix.

Why You Should Watch ‘The Thirteenth Floor’

There is a vocal minority that feels that The Thirteenth Floor is the greater of the two 1999 reality-bending sci-fi movies. However, this comes down mainly to genre preference–action versus mystery–and praise for the structure of The Thirteenth Floor, which leads to what some have called a ‘mind f*** of an ending.’

Even after making a case as to why the films are drastically different, it is hard not to draw that comparison. It is fascinating to imagine how successful The Thirteenth Floor might have been had it opened in a year without The Matrix, rather than settling into life as an underappreciated gem. Regardless, the film is worth checking out for oneself, as its deeper themes of simulation theory and humanity’s relationship with technology remain pertinent to modern-day paranoia around technology.