The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

Introduction & Plot
"The Thirteenth Floor" is a 1999 science fiction crime thriller film directed by Josef Rusnak. The movie is an expedition of virtual truth styles, mainly inspired by the 1964 novel 'Simulacron-3' by Daniel F. Galouye, portraying a computer-generated 'virtual world' within a world, which is being manipulated by the creators of this world.

Creation of the Virtual World
Computer scientist Hannon Fuller (played by Armin Mueller-Stahl) has actually found something immensely essential. He's about to tell the discovery to his coworker, Douglas Hall (played by Craig Bierko), however knowing somebody wants him, the old male leaves a letter in his computer produced parallel world that's much like the 30's with relatively real people with emotions. Douglas gets in the virtual world and discovers the letter, however it gets destroyed by the ones after Fuller, who are exposed to be agents from the "genuine" world above theirs.

The Murder and Investigation
Fuller is killed in the real life, and Hall ends up being the prime suspect. He can't piece together his lost memories of the night Fuller was killed, he discovers himself falling for Jane, a woman Fuller restored from the '30s virtual world - a lady who looks similar to Fuller's separated daughter, Whitney (both roles played by Gretchen Mol). Hall believes that he may too be residing in a virtual world, and might himself be a copied simulation of a real individual.

Unraveling of the Truth
As Douglas discovers the truth, it turns out that his world and the '30s world are both simulations produced by the "real" world of 2024, where occupants have the ability to enter the simulation by moving their consciousness into a virtual avatar within the developed world. The supposed murder of Fuller was actually his real-world body passing away after he was stuck in the simulation, which forces the victim's consciousness to jump to a random avatar, leaving the original body dead with a traumatized mind.

Defeating the Adversary
Douglas is revealed to be the virtual incarnation of David's (Fuller's equivalent in the real life) friend's child. David, upon recognizing the oppression, attempts to erase the 1990s simulation to lastly end Douglas's obtained existence. However, Jane - who ends up being the real world Whitney's avatar - helps Douglas transfer his awareness into the avatar belonging to Detective McBain, the detective who was examining Fuller's death in the 90's simulation.

Conclusion
In the end, Douglas, now as McBain, erases the '30s world after making sure that none of the residents are the avatars of real-world residents. Whitney comes to the 1990s world and decides to live within that virtual world with Douglas/McBain. The movie plays with principles of reality, identity, and consciousness, welcoming its audience to question the nature of their own existence. The surreal ending leaves us with the cautionary tale of our increasing dependence on innovation and the line it blurs between the virtual and the real world.

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