25

I watched this movie some time ago.

Actual info about plot:
There is a man waking up in spaceship/space station. He is awoken by an ex-girlfriend/wife(?). She asks him a couple of times if he remembers her (something had happened between them before going into outer space). I think a second guy wakes up too. No possible communication with any other station/Earth.

The ending:
The movie ends by showing you that the first guy that woke up is actually the only one alive. Many years have passed since the time he thinks he lives in, the woman (who obviously isn't alive) and everything he sees in the whole movie, is the alternate reality a creature/organism/parasite/entity/alien (I really don't know what to call it) that has been living there created for him, as it could see through his memories and recreate them. Everything in reality was covered in webs. I think the organism is shown and looks kind of like a spider but in a cyberpunk way.

2

3 Answers 3

60

This is one of the shorts from the Netflix original series Love, Death & Robots, specifically "Beyond the Aquila Rift". Per Wikipedia (spoilers):

Blue Goose's crew members Thom, Suzy, and Ray, are returning home from a successful mission, but an error in the routing plot causes unexpected events to happen. Thom is greeted by Greta, an old flame, and is told he is hundreds of thousands of light years from Earth, nearly beyond the Aquila Rift, and centuries have passed. Still in disbelief, Thom forcefully demands the truth from a tearfully reluctant Greta, who tells him that he is not ready to see the truth. Greta defends her position as she truly does care for him, and revealing the truth would hurt him. But as his demand grows, she relents and awakens him: an emaciated Thom is in a floating hive web structure occupied by an alien species. As Thom loses his mind to such an encounter, "Greta" returns him to the dream world, minus his recent memories, to greet him and begin all over again.

At risk of spoilers, here's a link to a YouTube video of the ending of the short, including the twist revelation:

12
  • 11
    I thought of that too, but it doesn't fit the "I've watched this movie some time ago" clue by the OP.
    – Moriarty
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 2:51
  • 3
    True but everything else seems to fit exactly, from the basic premise to the detail about everything being covered in webs and the creature being spiderlike. I'll add a link to a youtube video scene; that might at least add clarity at the expense of spoilers. But yeah, "Beyond the Aquila Rift" was what came immediately to mind when I read the question. Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 2:56
  • 5
    I think there must be another one. I too vaguely remember seeing some parts of a movie like the described one on the TV. But I didn't watch it myself and it was waaay before Netflix or even Youtube. I also remember the main character fluctuating between the two worlds (whether intentionally or not, I don't know) and... I think there were others? The spaceship crew was in some sort of distress and hoping that help would come soon? It could be that he was trying to use the alternate world to communicate their S.O.S. somehow? But I could also be way off here.
    – Vilx-
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 7:53
  • 7
    Is it possible OP is mixing up his memories of watching the LD&R episode and reading the original short story by Alastair Reynolds, which is almost 15 years old now? The episode is an almost perfect match, and I don't believe the short story has been adapted previously - at least not officially.
    – user118610
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 9:17
  • 10
    This is it! I had totally mixed up memories and that's because I watched LD&R episodes at one sitting, which made me think this was a whole movie. Thanks a lot! I'm now also interested in the film that @Vilx- is talking about.
    – Enieway
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 10:07
12

This sounds like Solaris to me, (novel Wikipedia link, film Wikipedia link).

Clinical psychologist Dr. Chris Kelvin is approached by emissaries for DBA, a corporation operating a space station orbiting the planet Solaris, who relay a message sent from his scientist friend Dr. Gibarian. Gibarian requests that Kelvin come to the station to help understand an unusual phenomenon but is unwilling to explain more. DBA is unsure how to proceed, as the mission to study Solaris has been sidetracked and none of the astronauts want to return home. In addition, DBA has lost contact with the security patrol recently dispatched to the station. Kelvin agrees to a solo mission to Solaris as a last attempt to bring the crew home safely.

....

Back on Earth, Kelvin struggles to return to normal life, haunted by the idea that he "remembered her wrong" – that is, Rheya as being invariably suicidal. When he accidentally cuts his finger in his kitchen, the wound immediately heals, and it is then that Kelvin realizes that he never returned to Earth. In a flashback, Kelvin gives up the idea of boarding the lifeboat, and Doctor Gordon leaves him behind. As the plummeting space station rattles itself to pieces around him, the replica of Gibarian's young son appears and offers his hand in assistance. In the kitchen, Rheya appears to Kelvin yet again. This time, however, she is tranquil, and assures Kelvin that they no longer have to think in terms like "life" and "death," and that all they have ever done is forgiven.

3
  • Could you edit this to explain why you think this matches? The OP is also after the film so it isn’t the novel.
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 1:51
  • 3
    There are two films of Solaris. I agree that most of the question does sound like Solaris - except the part of the question about the entity looking like a spider does not match the most recent Solaris film, where the entity is something like a planet or star.
    – Robyn
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 7:35
  • 4
    The original Solaris also had the entity as a living planet, so it doesn't match either.
    – user118610
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 7:58
6

There's an episode of The Outer Limits, "Tempests", that deals with a crashed crew survivor and two realities. That's what vix is talking about!

2
  • 6
    Could you edit this to add in a bit more detail for how it matches the description in the question?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 13:23
  • This is what came to my mind as well, especially since the op said it was from a while back. Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 15:56

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.