The cyberpunk movement gave us some of the best science fiction films: Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell and, yes, The Matrix. But my personal favorite technoir film is one that came out at the height of the cyberpunk craze and then all but disappeared.
Even though Strange Days was released back in 1995, it looks and feels like it could have come out yesterday. This is one of those rare old movies that features technology virtual reality without turning it into a gimmick.
Strange Days is set in Los Angeles in 1999, during the last 48 hours of the millennium. Lenny Nero, played by Ralph Fiennes, is a former cop who now sells an illegal virtual reality experience called Playback.
Nero's friend and bodyguard, Mace (Angela Bassett), tries to keep him grounded in reality and out of trouble. Together, they try to track down a brutal rapist and murderer – a man who uses VR Playback discs to record his crimes from his own point of view.
The film wastes no time in plunging me into an irritating setting: the opening scene is an armed robbery shot from a first-person perspective, with the robber running from the cops and jumping from one rooftop to another. A couple of scenes later, I saw tanks on the streets of Los Angeles and heard radio callers declaring that the world would end at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2000.
Strange Days reminds me of the best Black mirror episodes are both deeply disturbing and uncomfortably close to home. Director Kathryn Bigelow was influenced by the 1992 Los Angeles riots and incorporated elements of racial tension and police violence into her work. The result is a film that is sometimes difficult to watch, but impossible to look away from.
At the same time, Strange Days is based on emotions. Nero (Fiennes) spends much of the film reliving memories of his failed relationship with singer Faith (played by actress-turned-rocker Juliette Lewis). Lying in bed and watching images of happier days, he can trick himself into believing he's rollerblading with Faith again – until the dial stops spinning and he opens his eyes, back in the lonely present day.
“It’s not like television, only better,” says Nero, introducing VR Playback technology to one of his clients. “This is life.”
But Bassett's character, Mace, thinks otherwise, at one point accusing Nero of being tied to “used emotions.”
“This is your life!” says Mace. “Right here! Right now! This is in real time, do you hear? Real time, time to become reality, not Reproduction!”
As I watched Strange Days in 2025, I couldn't help but think about the virtual reality devices that exist today. VR headsets such as Meta Quest 3 And Google's Future Augmented Reality Glasses bringing us closer than ever to film playback technology. And exciting spatial videos for Apple Vision Pro can make you feel like you are actually reliving a 3D recorded memory. As I pondered the similarities between our current technology and Strange Days' Playback discs, I wondered if the future wanted to be haunted by the past.
Despite being 30 years old, Strange Days' special effects hold up incredibly well. While other 1995 sci-fi films such as Hackers and Johnny Mnemonic experimented with early computer-generated imagery, Strange Days took a more hands-on approach: characters move between playback frames using a simple analog distortion effect, just like watching home video on VHS tapes. The point-of-view shots have been carefully choreographed, and the footage looks as if you are viewing it through the eyes of the recorder.
Strange Days also features outstanding musical acts. Juliette Lewis as Faith brings to the screen two PJ Harvey tracks that evoke the best of '90s grunge. Rapper Jeriko One (played by Glenn Plummer) makes poignant social commentary in his music video. And contemporary artists Aphex Twin, Deee-Lite and Skunk Anansie perform during the film's pompous final act – a New Year's rave in downtown Los Angeles. (It was real concert with 10,000 participants.)
Strange days It's both a thrilling action film and a mind-bending exploration of technology and memory. I'm surprised the film failed at the box office in 1995 and I wish it had gotten the recognition it deserved back then. However, I'm glad this sci-fi masterpiece is available to stream today. While Strange Days doesn't have the most memorable title, the film itself is unforgettable.
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