The Thirteenth Floor (1999) - Movies Like The Matrix | Filmiway

When a scientist perfects a 1937 virtual reality so immersive users can't distinguish it from actual life, a brutal murder in the simulation bleeds into reality. As detective Douglas Hall investigates killings that occur simultaneously in both worlds, he uncovers nested realities where programmers from 2024 created 1999 Los Angeles as a test environment—and the original creator may have never left. This forgotten 1999 thriller delivered prescient virtual world horror that influenced The Matrix, questioning whether our reality is the base layer or just someone else's simulation.