Dark City

Dark City is a haunting, surreal, and stunning cinematic achievement from Alex Proyas: an amalgam of German expressionism, science fiction and film noir. John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens at midnight in a bathtub, paranoid and amnesiac, with a primitive instrument on the floor, a bloody knife on the table, and a woman's corpse behind the bed. He receives a telephone call from Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland), who warns him to leave immediately, as pallid, gaunt Strangers close in on him. Clues to his identity eventually lead him to his estranged wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly), who explains the reason behind their fractured relationship. Earlier, she attempts to file a missing persons report on her husband and is redirected to Inspector Bumstead (William Hurt) who suspects Murdoch of being a serial killer. Note the similar "scripted" explanation she provides to Bumstead and Murdoch, as if methodically reciting a logical consequence to Murdoch's inexplicable behavior. Recalling fragmented memories of his childhood home, he attempts to return to the elusive Shell Beach, in search of his past, and uncovers the nature of the Strangers' experiments.