The idea of virtual reality took Hollywood by the throat in the ’90s, resulting in a lot of very strange movies to utilize the premise, such as…

Brainscan (1994)

From our review: “He’s the perfect candidate, then, for Brainscan, a weird and revolutionary video game that’s shipped to him for free after a phone call to the company sends him into inexplicable convulsions. Because that’s what video games can do, control you hypnotically long-distance! Or so the studios assume!”

The Lawnmower Man (1992)

From our review: “By plugging into the internet, he’s able to take vengeance on mean people with the MIGHTY POWER OF CGI. Oh and mind reading and telekinesis, why not.”

Arcade (1993)

From our review: “In the movie Arcade, these teens go to an arcade where they play a video game called Arcade which is secretly controlled by a sentient A.I. known as Arcade. Can you believe that this was written by Batman Begins screenwriter David S. Goyer?”

eXistenZ (1999)

From our review: “eXistenZ is a dud that figures that if it acts weird and disgusting enough, then people will figure that it’s brilliant so that they don’t look stupid by stating the obvious.”

The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

From our review: “So we have people jumping back and forth between worlds where questions like identity, reality, and control emerge. After a bit, The Thirteenth Floor becomes a bit of a head trip where we along with the characters are trying to straighten a rather convoluted plot out.”

Virtuosity (1995)

From our review: “With the goofy virtual reality simulations and the liberal use of not-always-great ’90s CGI, you can see how films like Virtuosity were pushing the field more and more toward The Matrix. We’re not there yet, but that isn’t to say that this isn’t without its merit.”