Remember when you had to use a noisy dial-up modem to access the internet, and each page would take ages to load? It was the era of animated GIFs, early online communities, and floppy disks. But it was also an exciting time when everything felt new and within reach: it was the internet of the 90s.
This was long before social media and smartphones were even invented, and yet people all over the world already understood the potential of the medium. Today, there are countless internet and cable services to choose from, with offers from many providers listed on LocalCableDeals. Back then, the internet was a much smaller market, but the possibilities felt endless. Naturally, filmmakers started to explore this fascinating new phenomenon, imagining the ways in which it might evolve in the future. Some got a few things right; some got many things wrong, even hilariously so, but always in a very entertaining way.
Whether you’re feeling nostalgic or looking to immerse yourself in the tech of the era, we have you covered with this list of five 90s movies about the internet, featuring all-time classics and a couple of releases you might not have heard of. Find them all below, in order of release.
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
Brett Leonard
What would virtual reality look like in the future? According to director Brett Leonard – who would soon go on to explore artificial intelligence in the similarly inaccurate yet highly influential Virtuosity (1995) – VR headsets would be so powerful that they could unlock superhuman abilities in their users, from advanced intelligence to telekinesis and even divine status more. But putting on these bulky helmets would also come with risks, from brain damage to (wait for it) actual physical disintegration. Of course, we now know that reality couldn’t be more different. Yet, this 90s classic still mantains a huge following precisely because of how much it exaggerated the tech while also addressing something very real: the fear of rapid technological evolution that defined the 90s.
It all starts when a scientist (Pierce Brosnan) begins experimenting with VR to boost intelligence, running some tests on a gardener who lives in his neighborhood, Jobe Smith (Jeff Fahey). Right away, Jobe begins to show signs of cognitive growth, but he also starts developing a god complex that soon leads him to upload his whole mind into his own computer. In The Lawnmower Man, the internet is an actual spiritual dimension, where avatars are all-powerful beings with telepathic abilities. Despite its obvious, most dated elements, the movie captivates both visually and thematically, capturing the fears of an era right in the moment when the digital era was about to begin.
Fun fact: The Lawnmower Man is based on a Stephen King story, but it strays so much from its source material that the author successfully sued the movie to have his named removed from the project. If you like the film, check out the Keanu Reeves-starring Johnny Mnemonic (1995), which tackles similar themes of digital data overload.
Hackers (1995)
Iain Softley
The title is pretty self-explanatory, but the combination of a compelling plot and an all-star cast at the start of their careers make this a 90s gem you don’t want to miss. Dade Murphy (Jonny Lee Miller) is a legendary young hacker who uses the username “Crash Override”. When he moves to New York City, he joins a group of elite teenage cyber-rebels led by Kate Libby, alias “Acid Burn” (Angelina Jolie). One day, a team member accidentally downloads a file that exposes a plot concocted by a shady tech executive, and the group is immediately targeted by Secret Service Agent Richard Gill (Fisher Stevens). Our protagonists need to clear their names, and there’s only one way to do that: unveiling the real culprit by launching a digital assault against them.
In Hackers (1995), coding looks like a neon rave of geometric shapes and 3D data towers, but this only makes the film more fun. Even though the actual hacking isn’t realistic, the movies gets a lot of things right, especially the sense of community that comes from networks of strangers teaming up for something they believe in. Hackers is an often hilarious, psychedelic epic that entertains from start to end, with a cult soundtrack that will give you energy and iconic slang you’ll love to quote.
The Net (1995)
Irvin Winkler
Sandra Bullock plays Angela Bennett, a reclusive, work-from-home systems analyst who spends her days debugging software and communicating with her colleagues through computer screens. One day, she receives a mysterious floppy disk (remember those?) that somehow gives her access to a classified security system used by the government. When Angela opens the disk, she immediately finds herself with a target on her back: just like that, her entire digital existence is deleted, and her name is reassigned to a wanted criminal.
This terrifying premise makes Irvin Winkler’s The Net (1995) a very interesting project, elevated by Bullock’s superb performance and by a tense plot that will keep you hooked from start to end. This gripping thriller was also shockingly ahead of its time in how it confronted issues of privacy in the time of digital era, where identity theft and cyber warfare have become real dangers. More than that, The Net gets modern internet dynamics incredibly right, including everyday tasks like ordering food online. It feels like it could have been made today, and it’s a must watch.
Strange Days (1995)
Kathryn Bigelow
Before Kathryn Bigelow gave us The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, and the recently released A House of Dynamite, she made Strange Days (1995), a fascinating, thought-provoking thriller that already showed the thematic depth and storytelling genius that would define her career. The film takes place in a dystopian, chaotic version of Los Angeles, where a black-market street dealer named Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) traffics in unusual contraband known as “clips”. We are talking of direct-to-brain digital recordings, taken illegally from a technology that allows Lenny to experience other people’s memories and feelings.
The film takes off when Lenny is sent a clip that documents a brutal murder, and is then dragged into a conspiracy that involves anything from corrupt police officers to institutional cover-ups. And so, as the city threatens to erupt into full-scale riots, Lenny’s mission, alongside his protector, Mace (Angela Bassett), is to expose the tape before it’s too late and LA is torn apart.
From political conspiracies to dark secrets hidden in plain sight, Strange Days is unmistakably a Kathryn Bigelow project, and as such, it successfully comments on systemic issues that are still highly relevant today. Yet, it’s also a very interesting analysis of the internet itself: while you won’t see any browsers or traditional surfing here, you’ll be face to face with our modern obsession with digital voyeurism and the dangerously addictive idea of experiencing someone else’s life in first-person. If you’re looking for a fascinating thriller that will get under your skin, look no further.
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Nora Ephron
The last entry on our list is neither dystopian nor a cyber thriller; on the contrary, this is a charming, lighthearted rom-com that will have you grinning from ear to ear. Yet it also serves as a reminder that the internet can also be used to foster genuine human connection. For the two protagonists of Nora Ephron’s story, it all revolves around a very special website. Independent children’s bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and mega-bookstore corporate chain heir Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) couldn’t be more different – the former an idealistic dreamer and the latter a cynical, matter-of-fact businessman – yet they’ve been spending most of their time together. It all has to do with AOL email exchanges and a chat room where they simply know each other as “Shopgirl” and “NY152”.
The film’s main conflict arises when Joe starts finding out the truth about Kathleen’s real-world identity, by which time the two will have already formed an intense connection, which makes their business rivalry complicated. But You’ve Got Mail is the 90s classic that it is thanks to our leads’ chemistry, combined with a simple yet irresistible premise that allows them to take center stage. As for the internet, the movie predicts modern dating very accurately, and gives us a fascinating depiction of the kind of intimacy you can build with a complete stranger when the formula is right.
Whether looking back at the beautifully campy extremes of virtual reality or the surprisingly accurate predictions of anything from modern dating to digital identity theft, 1990s movies can give us a captivating time capsule of our early relationship with the internet. Enjoy revisiting these nostalgic gems, which all show us how even the wildest sci-fi fantasies led to our familiar, tech-filled world.