Stop me if you’ve heard of this one. A man wakes up in a water-filled bath tub in a sketchy room, with no memory of how he ended up there. Throughout the film, he is chased by an all-powerful collective that wants to maintain the fabricated reality everyone else believes in while the main character realizes the truth and gains powers during his journey. I admit it is a bit of a stretch to say the opening shot of this film is strangely similar to the opening of “Saw”. But the main talking point of this movie in the following years is how similar it is to “The Matrix”. It doesn’t help both films were released only a year apart, they filmed in the same city, and even shared sets. But I assure you that they are entirely different films, with my personal favorite being this overlooked gem.

The aura of this movie is instantly distinct from the previously mentioned science fiction-action based blockbuster. A lot of this film is influenced by much older movies, primarily those from the Crime Noir genre. The old TV show “The Twilight Zone” was even a major influence. While this movie can also be classified as science fiction, there is a Horror element that makes the story even more unsettling. And as someone who has seen his fair share of “The Twilight Zone”, it would be easy to believe this could have been a story from that show. But it’s more important to focus on the Crime Noir influence since that is the source of the movie’s themes and plot structure.

Let’s take a moment to talk about the villains in this movie, The Strangers. It is revealed towards the end they are an extraterrestrial species that kidnapped some humans and placed them in a city of their creation. It turns out their species is dying and they are curious about the Human soul. Or in more practical terms, the essence of what makes each person unique while also showcasing what makes the Human race in general different. The decision for them to study that is logical since they shared a collective consciousness without much room for individuality, which could be part of the reason they are dying. This also connects to themes often explored in noir stories. A lot of those movies have the characters explore human nature, what drives someone to do certain actions. Those movies often focus on the darker aspects of humanity and the cruelty that we can find ourselves capable of doing if pushed far enough. And those movies can oftentimes end on a depressing note as the main character can find themselves disillusioned and hardened by their experiences.

But this movie cleverly switches that around. Yes, the main character – John Murdoch – sees through the fake reality that has been created by The Strangers. Learns of how his life has been manipulated and how he has been forced in a sense to do things he most likely wouldn’t do of his own choice. But while one can call this being disillusioned, the movie would most likely refer to this as being enlightened. Now that he is aware of what is happening around him, he can utilize his mind to take control of his own life and future. And while the movie does make this literal with him having psychokinesis, it’s still an accurate way of portraying how that idea can be utilized in the real world. Just don’t expect yourselves to actually be able to create building with the power of your brain.

Another way that this movie turns a classic Noir trope around is the conclusion the main character comes to about Humanity. A lot of Noir films will end with the main character having a more pessimistic outlook on people and the world at large. But at the end of Murdoch’s story, he proves that the unpredictable nature of people is actually a good thing. When left to our own devices, we have the capability of creating a world and future that is bright and full of possibilities. The Strangers trying to figure that out through their experiment were never going to be able to fully comprehend that due to their own nature. Their experiment was doomed from the beginning. Even when one of them tries to form some kind of individuality it ends up ultimately being incompatible and kills him. Our free will is what makes us unique and so interesting. And with it, who knows what we can be capable of?