There are just a couple of days left for fans to witness Sam Raimi’s comeback to the superhero genre with the Benedict Cumberbatch starrer ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’. And as the title suggests, the Marvel film delves further into the intriguing concept of the multiverse. Before the highly anticipated ‘Doctor Strange’ sequel arrives in theatres on 6th May, you can watch the following movies which touched upon the idea of a multiverse / parallel universe / alternative reality / alternate dimensions, etc. Happy Bingeing.
The Mist, 2007 (Streaming on Lionsgate Play)
Helmed by Frank Darabont (Director – The Shawshank Redemption), the film’s plot follows the Drayton family living in a small Maine town. One night, an intense storm hits the town after which a mysterious mist engulfs the whole area. The family gets trapped inside a supermarket where the town residents learn about killer creatures from some other dimension apparently emerging out of the mist.
Source Code, 2011 (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
An Army Captain and helicopter pilot (Jake Gyllenhaal) is sent on a mission to identify a bomber in a commuter train that is the target of the bombing. But there’s a catch: he has just eight minutes to find out. Another catch: he can relive those eight minutes multiple times, that is, every time he dies in the train explosion. Based on the concept of alternate reality, it’s an edge-of-the-seat thriller by Duncan Jones and also features Vera Farmiga in a nice supporting role.
Spider-Man; No Way Home, 2021 (Rent on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Tata Play, Zee5, Apple iTunes)
It’s a direct sequel to Tom Holland’s solo Spider-Man movies namely ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and ‘Spider-Man: Far from Home’. The film’s underlying plot follows a botched-up magical spell by Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) while attempting to conceal Peter Parker’s secret identity as Spider-Man from the public. But Peter Parker must deal with the repercussions when the spell eventually results in various supervillains (Electro, Green Goblin, Sandman, The Lizard, and Doc Ock) from alternate realities somehow entering his universe.
The Butterfly Effect, 2004 (Rent on Google Play, YouTube)
The deftly executed sci-fi flick revolves around a college student named Evan (played by Ashton Kutcher). While growing up, he suffers from several blackouts. Many years later, he finds a supernatural way to somehow transport himself back in time to those periods when he had experienced those blackouts. But when he tries to alter the past events using his gift, the plan backfires resulting in terrifying alternate realities.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2018 (Streaming on Netflix)
The 2018 film broke new ground for the superhero animated films genre. The taut multi-versal story followed a teenage boy named Miles Morales who eventually becomes the new Spider-Man. He teams up with multiple spider-powered superheroes from other universes to fight a common enemy – the supervillain Kingpin.