Dr. Fred Stiller (Löwitsch) works at the institute for cybernetics and future science, a for-profit enterprise that is creating the worlds first virtual reality environment. When his boss mysteriously dies, Stiller takes over management of the supercomputer Simulacron, which makes it all happen. Soon his life goes totally haywire— - friends disappear without explanation, agonizing headaches debilitate him, and he's framed for murder. Not sure whom he can trust, Stiller visits the world of Simulacron to figure out whats really going on - and hopefully reclaim his sanity.

A forerunner to futuristic flicks like "The Matrix”" and "Inception"”, this mind-bending, made-for-TV movie is available for the first time in decades. Employing his distinctively bizarre style, director/screenwriter Fassbinder blurs the line between sci-fi and thriller, reality and artifice. Löwitsch brings a measure of heart and humanity to the central role, which is welcome among all the prevailing weirdness. Talk about out of this "World”": Fassbinder fans in particular should pounce on this rediscovered cult classic.