10 Best Multiverse Movies Ever

Somehow making Donnie Darko seem comparatively well-budgeted, 1998's German experimental thriller Run Lola Run was made for just $1.75 million, yet offers up a brilliantly energetic take on the notion of parallel universes.

The story follows Lola (a superb Franka Potente), who has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks or her low-level criminal boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) will be killed.

Director Tom Tykwer chronicles three separate attempts by Lola to save Manni, each distinguished by minor variations which end up causing wildly different - and, often, fatal - outcomes.

Tykwer doesn't linger much on the metaphysical machinations of the situation, but rather revels in the beauty of the butterfly effect in each high-tension, fast-paced 20-minute sprint.

It begs audiences to consider how their lives could branch off in aggressively divergent directions with just a minor change, and that you never know which moment in your life might be a major nexus point for the future.