Few science-fiction movies had made a bigger impact on popular culture than The Matrix, the Wachowskis’ 1999 mind-bender about a dystopian future where human beings are held in captivity, living in a digital simulation of reality while their body heat is harvested by advanced computers. The notion that our entire world might be a fabrication of some artificial intelligence has had particular resonance, as has the idea of taking the “red pill” — choosing to reject the comfort of the false world in order to finally see the (incredibly crappy) real one.

The impact of these concepts is a subject worthy of further consideration and now they will get that from A Glitch in the Matrix, a new documentary from Rodney Ascher, the filmmaker who previously gave us Room 237, a film about obsessive The Shining fans and their feverish theories about the movie’s true meaning. Ascher seems like the perfect guy to make a doc like this, and the first teaser looks very intriguing:

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

What if we are living in a simulation, and the world as we know it is not real? To tackle this mind-bending idea, acclaimed filmmaker Rodney Ascher (ROOM 237, THE NIGHTMARE) uses a noted speech from Philip K. Dick to dive down the rabbit hole of science, philosophy, and conspiracy theory. Leaving no stone unturned in exploring the unprovable, the film uses contemporary cultural touchstones like THE MATRIX, interviews with real people shrouded in digital avatars, and a wide array of voices, expert and amateur alike. If simulation theory is not science fiction but fact, and life is a video game being played by some unknowable entity, then who are we, really? A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX attempts to find out.

A Glitch in the Matrix will premiere in theaters and on demand on February 5. The Matrix 4 comes out in theaters and on HBO Max next winter.

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