The Top 10 Best Alternate Reality Movies
These Alternate Reality Movies will Show You a Whole New World.
This week I’ve put together a list of alternate reality movies that would make Neil Degrasse Tyson shake his head in frustration. Sure, they might not be the most realistic take on quantum physics, but I’m more of science fiction over science fact guy when it comes to my movies of choice. So, how does a film earn a spot on this alternate reality movies list? Well, I decided the film has to feature a character that is aware that either they have entered a reality that is distinctly different from their own (either by traveling to it, manipulating the timeline or creating it themselves) or encounters something or someone that is from a different reality. Of course, “reality” is a synonym for dimension in this. Even with this pretty specific description a ton of movies still met the requirements. Luckily, I don’t have much of a social life, so I narrowed this long list down to the 10 best alternate reality movies. Check it out and let me know in the comments what you think of the films that made this list.
10. The Butterfly Effect
Kicking off this list is a movie that took a look at, well, the butterfly effect. The theory is that tiny events and actions have dramatic and far-reaching consequences. Ashton Kutcher learns this the hard way as he travels back through time attempting to change terrible events in the past in order to create a better present. Each time he goes back though he inadvertently causes huge unintended consequences that change the very fabric of the reality he’s come to know. Even as he tries to clean up his mistakes, he ends up creating more and more alternate realities. The Butterfly Effect is essentially parallel universes for dummies, but that’s what makes it one of the better alternate reality movies out there.
9. Isn’t it Romantic
Turns out one of the better alternate reality movies hit theaters just this year. Rebel Wilson suffers a traumatic head injury and wakes up in a world where her life has become everything she hates about romantic comedies. That’s right, not all the entries on this list of alternate reality movies are going to be hard sci-fi (mostly because science fiction is way more fun than science fact most of the time). I actually really enjoyed Isn’t It Romantic a lot more than I thought I would, especially because it found a way to shine a light on all the little things that make the genre so insufferable at times. Of course, the key to getting back to the real world is Wilson learning a life lesson. If only interdimensional travel were that easy.
8. Silent Hill
Most movies based on video games are pretty terrible. However, every once in a while a good one breaks the trend and gives us hope. One of my personal favorites is the first Silent Hill flick. It features a woman searching for her missing child who stumbles into another dimension that is pretty much pure nightmare fuel. The world it takes place is in a town that has been sucked into a hellish existence meant to force the bigoted, small-minded people of the town to face the consequences of their sins. Silent Hill is filled with dark and twisted imagery that really drives home what an atrocious dimension it is that the heroine has found herself in. In my opinion, this is definitely one of the creepiest alternate reality movies out there.
7. Happy Death Day 2U
The first Happy Death Day was about a girl caught in a time loop where she was forced to relive the same day over and over while she tried to stop a killer stalking her. The sequel though kicks things up a notch by throwing her into an alternate reality where she starts the time loop over again. This really messes with her, because she has to learn to get a handle on everything that’s different while trying to find a way home. Oh, and she still has to stop a killer. Needless to say, things get complicated quickly, but the film manages to keep its sense of humor and that makes it a little easier to wrap your head around everything that’s happening. I loved the sequel almost as much as the original, but I have no idea where they’re going to go from here if there’s a third film.
6. Back to the Future 2
The Back to the Future films are some of the greatest time travel films of all time. However, the sequel definitely qualifies for a spot on this list of alternate reality movies. In it, time traveler Marty McFly travels to the future and decides to invest in a sports almanac to help him make a little scratch on the side when he returns to his present. Instead, evildoer Biff Tannen decides to use the time machine to give the book to his past self. Marty returns to a dystopian reality where Biff has made a fortune and risen to political power. The similarities between Tannen and Trump have risen many to question the prophetic nature of the film. Luckily, Marty is able to fix the past and get rid of Biff. America will just have to figure out another solution for Trump.