story identification - In which movie/TV show do characters use a hand-held organic-looking creature to travel into a virtual world?

I remember seeing this movie (or TV show) when I was a kid (around 1999). My memories are very vague.

I remember the main characters were a guy and a girl.

They had some kind of device, which in retrospect looks like a genetically engineered organism. I remember it had small finger-like appendages that they would use as controls.

This creature somehow enabled the main characters to visit a parallel universe (or virtual reality) which was indistinguishable from the real world. There was some symbolism here comparing this virtual reality to the internet.

At some point during the movie, one of the main characters kills someone, and there was some confusion regarding if it happened inside the virtual world or not. I'm not completely sure but I think the person was actually killed in the real world by accident.

Any ideas?

Answer

It sounds very much like eXistenZ, a David Cronenberg film from 1999.

Click here for the trailer.

eXistenZ is a cutting-edge game system that plugs into your neural / nervous system, via an installed port in the base of your your spine, and goes beyond regular VR as it seems completely real.

Here is a shot of Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh who starred with Jude Law) next to one of the Controllers with its umbilical-like cords:

Allegra in repose

A clean shot of the device:

enter image description here

And yes, there is indeed confusion between the "real" world and the "game" world.

SPOILER:

At the end of the movie the creator of the game is murdered, and as the assassins leave they encounter a terrified guy in their way who says, "You don't have to shoot me! ...Tell me the truth. Are we still in the game?"

Another disturbing aspect was a gun made from bone and other organic materials that shot human teeth as bullets (to bypass metal-detection security).

enter image description here

Here is one of the "bullets" taken from Allegra's shoulder (wound shown in top-most picture):

enter image description here

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