Parallel 2018

The film opens with an elderly couple in bed. When the wife rises to check on her crying dog, she is murdered by a masked intruder who removes the mask to reveal she is an exact duplicate of the wife. The intruder then redresses and re-enters bed, joining the husband as if nothing happened.

Next four friends—Devin, Aml Ameen, Noel, Martin Wallström, Leena, Georgia King, and Josh, Mark O’Brien—are running a software startup. Devin and Noel pitch to investors but face an impossible deadline. Their investors favor a rival company, and the group realizes a programmer Seth betrayed them. They tell Leena and Josh the bad news, then head to a bar. The barmaid Carmen, Alyssa Diaz, informs them their home is rumored haunted after the previous owner vanished.

Back home, they discuss finishing the app; they decide it cannot be done within the deadline. In a scuffle, Josh becomes angry when Devin mentions quitting to take a job. They damage a wall and uncover a hidden room. In the attic they find a strange mirror; Josh steps through the mirror and disappears, returning seconds later with a tale of a different world and 15 minutes passing. Noel realizes the mirror is a portal connecting to alternate universes. They decide to use it to slow time to finish the app. They complete it, hand it to investors, and taunt Seth as they drive past him.

Over drinks, the four discuss using the portal for personal gain. Leena uncovers the missing woman’s diaries and learns her name was Marissa and that she lost her husband and used the mirror to reconnect with him in another universe. Noel proposes stealing ideas across worlds; Devin resists, noting Seth’s earlier betrayal, but loses the argument. Devin then learns of his father’s death by suicide following a corruption scandal.

Noel uses the mirror to seduce women, Leena copies famous artworks to sell as her own, and Noel becomes a “visionary” who resells ideas. All four grow wealthy. At an event, they encounter a suspicious Seth. Josh intervenes when Seth insults Devin about his father. Noel pulls Devin into another universe to raid Seth’s home. Noel destroys Seth’s TV and laptop, then urges Devin to beat up Seth; Devin refuses, and they retreat. Devin discovers Marissa’s diary reveals that Marissa lost her mind chasing her dead husband; concern for Noel grows.

To cheer Devin up, Josh takes him to another universe where Josh successfully courts Carmen and beds her. Devin goes downstairs to listen to music but misses the sound of Carmen’s boyfriend returning, who shoots Josh. Devin carries the dying Josh back to their world, where he bleeds out in the attic. Noel does not call 911. The trio panics and reluctantly agree to kidnap a Josh from another world to replace the dead one.

The alt Josh is drugged and wakes in the new world among the moving boxes. The three tell him that he got drunk, is rich, and has a dream job; Noel has rearranged events to fit their goals. Yet Devin later searches for a world where his father is alive and finds him.

Noel keeps stealing ideas and secretly spies on Devin and Leena. Devin and Leena grow closer, sharing a night of passion, which Noel observes.

The next morning Devin seems to vanish again as he searches for his father. Leena suspects Noel lied about Devin’s whereabouts; Noel dismisses it as typical Devin and promises he will return. Later Leena finds Devin’s phone dumped in the trash, recovers it, and uses it to track Devin to a lakeside cabin. There Devin explains that Noel warned of a patent lawsuit from Seth, forcing him to leave the country until the case ends; Devin has no memory of sleeping with Leena, and Leena realizes Noel has killed the real Devin. Noel has imported an alternate Devin from another universe and left him at the cabin. Leena hides the real Devin’s phone with her.

Josh sneaks into the house, threatening Noel with a gun. Josh has become unhinged and questions what is real. In a struggle, the gun fires, wounding Noel. A second Noel arrives with a futuristic gun and kills both Noel and Josh.

Hearing the shots, Leena finds Noel standing over the two bodies. He proclaims this is for the best and reveals more stolen tech from alternate worlds, urging a return to control. He tries to persuade Leena to join him, showing her evidence of other Leenas. When she tries to shoot, the gun’s fingerprint lock stops her. She runs to the attic and tries to escape through the mirror, but Noel pulls her back. A second alt Devin appears just in time to save her. Devin shoots Noel, who leaps into the mirror. Leena and Devin flee, planning to vanish from this multiverse. They shut the mirror, trapping Noel between worlds and severing him in half.

The two embrace and discard the body, then Leena smashes the mirror. They leave to start anew. Yet, at a gas station restroom later, a flash of light and a crackling mirror sound hints that another copy of the portal may still exist. Leena returns to the car with Devin, who now faces the unsettling reality that she is an alternate version who cannot recall the song they were listening to, suggesting their memories may never fully align.