They came out fairly close together, and both tackle the subject of synthetic realities, simulations in which a society of people are living without being away of their situation. One takes the techno-futurist route — The Matrix (1999), and the other takes a more surrealistic sci-fi approach, and made way less money — Dark City (1998). But the latter did become a cult favorite. But how much does The Matrix owe to Dark City, and what did DC do better?