Dust off that spot on the shelf between Sliders reruns and your well-worn copy of Stargate, because we're diving into a dimension-hopping adventure that feels plucked straight from the mid-90s direct-to-video ether: Krishna Rao's Crossworlds (1996). Forget polished blockbusters for a moment; this is the kind of movie you might have grabbed purely based on the intriguing cover art featuring a grizzled Rutger Hauer or the promise of sci-fi weirdness. It’s a curious artifact, a blend of earnest ambition and budget-conscious execution that perfectly captures a certain flavor of 90s genre filmmaking.
### A Crystal, A Quest, and College Kid Confusion
The premise throws us right into the deep end, much like our bewildered protagonist, Joe Talbot (Josh Charles). He's just a regular guy, maybe a little adrift, until a mysterious pendant inherited from his late father activates, revealing its true nature as a key – not just to a different place, but to entirely different realities. Suddenly, Joe finds himself hunted by the ruthless Ferris (Stuart Wilson) and protected by the enigmatic A.T. (short for Alternate Traveler, played by the legendary Rutger Hauer). The crystal is the key to opening pathways between parallel Earths, and Ferris wants it to unleash his dimension's forces upon ours. Simple enough, right? It’s a classic "ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances" setup, the kind that fueled countless adventures we devoured on fuzzy CRT screens.
What unfolds is a chase across different dimensions, or rather, slightly different versions of Southern California filming locations standing in for these other worlds. Director Krishna Rao, working primarily in television both before and after this feature film effort (you might know his work from shows like Dawson's Creek), crafts a story co-written with his father Raman Rao and sci-fi scribe Brent V. Friedman (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation). There's a palpable sense of reaching for something grand – a multiversal war, complex lore – but you can almost feel the budgetary seams straining against the cosmic scope.
### Hauer Power and 90s Heroes
Let’s be honest, a big part of the appeal here, then and now, is Rutger Hauer. Fresh off… well, a whole lot of varied 90s roles, Hauer brings his signature intensity and weathered charisma to A.T. He’s the grizzled mentor, the warrior from another world who knows the stakes. Is it his most nuanced performance? Perhaps not. But just seeing Hauer stride through scenes, barking exposition about dimensional doorways and ancient conflicts, lends the film a weight it desperately needs. He feels like he genuinely stepped out of a more epic, unseen conflict happening just off-screen. His presence alone probably secured countless rentals back in the day for distributor Trimark Pictures, a company known for feeding the hungry VHS market with genre flicks like this.
Opposite him, Josh Charles, who many would later recognize from Dead Poets Society or The Good Wife, makes for a perfectly likable, slightly overwhelmed hero. He grounds the absurdity, reacting with the kind of wide-eyed confusion most of us would exhibit if suddenly told parallel universes were real and bad guys wanted our family heirloom. And Stuart Wilson, a reliable British screen presence often tapped for villain duties (think Lethal Weapon 3), brings a sneering menace to Ferris. He’s not overly complex, but he effectively embodies the threat chasing our heroes across the dimensional divide.
### Worlds Colliding (On a Budget)
The real charm – and perhaps challenge – of Crossworlds lies in its visual execution. This was the mid-90s, a fascinating transitional period for special effects. We get a mix of practical stunts and explosions, which often have that satisfyingly tangible quality, alongside early digital effects that… well, they certainly look like mid-90s CGI. The shimmering portals, the energy blasts – they have that slightly artificial, computer-generated sheen that dates the film instantly, but in an almost endearing way for those of us who grew up with this visual language.
You won't find sprawling, distinct alien landscapes here. The "other worlds" often look suspiciously like slightly redressed industrial areas or desert highways around Los Angeles. It's a classic trick of low-budget sci-fi, asking the audience to fill in the gaps with their imagination. And you know what? Back then, fueled by popcorn and the thrill of a new rental, we often did. The ambition was clear, even if the resources weren’t infinite. It’s part of the fun, appreciating the creative workarounds and the earnest attempt to tell a big story with limited means. There's a certain "let's put on a show!" energy that's hard to dislike.
### A Forgotten Portal Worth Reopening?
Crossworlds never set the world(s) on fire. It came and went, finding its home primarily on video store shelves and late-night cable slots. It doesn’t boast groundbreaking effects or a revolutionary plot. But watching it today evokes a specific kind of nostalgia – not just for the film itself, but for the era of filmmaking it represents. It’s a time capsule of mid-90s sci-fi tropes, fashion, and that particular blend of practical grit and burgeoning digital dreams.
It's the kind of movie where you appreciate the effort, enjoy the presence of actors like Hauer and Wilson clearly having some fun, and maybe chuckle affectionately at the charmingly dated elements. It taps into that simple adventure fantasy: what if you were the key to saving the multiverse? It’s earnest, a little goofy, and possesses a straightforward adventure spirit that feels increasingly rare.
Rating: 6/10
This score reflects a film that's undeniably a product of its time and budget, with noticeable limitations in effects and scope. However, it earns points for its core B-movie charm, the welcome presence of Rutger Hauer adding genre credibility, a likable lead in Josh Charles, and its status as a fun, if somewhat forgotten, piece of 90s sci-fi VHS nostalgia. It’s not a lost masterpiece, but it’s an entertaining enough dimension-hop for an evening’s viewing.
Crossworlds might not be the most polished key to the multiverse, but for a trip back to the earnest adventure flicks of the VHS racks, it still unlocks a door to some good, old-fashioned sci-fi fun.