''Philadelphia Experiment II'' (also known as ''Philadelphia Experiment 2'') is a 1993 American

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstell ...

. It is the sequel to ''

The Philadelphia Experiment The Philadelphia Experiment was an alleged event claimed to have been witnessed by an ex- merchant mariner named Carl M. Allen at the United States Navy's Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sometime around ...

'' (1984), with an entirely new cast and only two characters returning. It stars Brad Johnson as David Herdeg (the hero from the first film) and Gerrit Graham in a dual role as both the main villain and his father.

Plot

It is nine years after the events that thrust David Herdeg into 1984, where he met and later married Allison. She has since died, and David is living alone with their son, Benjamin. His business is slowly failing, Ben's school attendance has dropped and the banks are threatening to foreclose on his house; however, he refuses financial help from Professor Longstreet, the original project director, in exchange for rejoining the U.S. Navy. In addition to this, he has also been having painful experiences which Longstreet rationalizes as stress-related hallucinations. Unbeknownst to Herdeg, Longstreet has been doing some research of his own. In a demonstration, engineer William Mailerson of Friedrich Mahler, a Nazi scientist who worked on a project similar to the Philadelphia Experimentuses the technology as a demonstration for a potential teleportation attack-defense strategy. The concept was to beam a bomber into a high-risk area to surprise enemy air defenses, attacking before they could react. To demonstrate, he beams a model aircraft across a room. Despite getting significant interest, Longstreet manages to convince the panel that the technology is too dangerous to use. It is then revealed that Longstreet himself gave Mailer the necessary equipment – on condition that they be used only for test purposes. It is these tests that David is experiencing. Herdeg, furious to learn that Longstreet has lied to him, packs to leave California, hoping to get far enough away from the experiment. Mailer, on the clock to vindicate his work, uses the technology to transmit an

F-117 Nighthawk The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational air ...

, but the aircraft does not rematerialize. David feels tremendous physical pain as the world around him changes and Ben disappears. David finds himself in a different 1993, on the run from a heavily armed military team. He is rescued by Jess, a member of an underground resistance group, who explains that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

won World War II and is about to mark 50 years of Nazi rule over America. Jews, African-Americans, and other ethnic minorities are being sent to concentration camps, while all citizens suffer under an oppressive puppet government. Germany had won the war using a futuristic aircraft called the ''Phoenix'' to deliver atomic bombs, destroying Washington, D.C., and other major targets on the east coast. The United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union and other Allied nations then surrendered to Nazi Germany. The Phoenix was destroyed in an explosion and Friedrich Mahler, the scientist who took credit for building it, was ridiculed since he was unable to reproduce "his" successful design. The aircraft was the same F-117 from Mailer's beaming experiment, accidentally sent back in time. His test of the device was meant to transport the F-117, with a payload of nuclear weapons, to

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and al ...

in Germany. While the aircraft was successfully teleported to Ramstein, it was also transferred through time, arriving in 1943 Nazi Germany. Mahler found it and told the Nazis that it was his invention. Because of Herdeg's unique blood, he still knows the original history, and is recruited by Longstreetthe leader of the resistance groupto go back in time and prevent the Nazi's use of the F-117. The revised Mailer has developed the same beaming experiment, but has also studied the Philadelphia Experiment, and knows that an injection of Herdeg's blood will allow him to travel through time using the beam. When the resistance attacks Mailer's base, in its effort to send Herdeg back, Herdeg is captured by Mailer, who draws a vial of blood. As Jess and the others are gunned down, Herdeg escapes and travels back. Mailer soon follows. Herdeg is warped back to the night before the F-117 leaves for the attack on Washington. Mailer meets his fatherMahler. Mailer tries to explain to a disbelieving Mahler as to who he is, and tries to explain the fate of the ''Phoenix''. While they are talking, Herdeg successfully destroys the aircraft and attempts to escape through the time portal. However, Mailer shoots and wounds Herdeg, knocking him to the ground. Before Mailer can deliver a kill shot, Herdeg is able to shoot and kill Mahler. This erases Mailer from existence, and Herdeg crawls into the portal. Herdeg returns to the (mostly) original America in 1993, meeting Ben at his Little League gamebemused to see that Jess is now the mother of one of Ben's teammates.

Cast

* Brad Johnson as David Herdeg * Marjean Holden as Jess * Gerrit Graham as Dr. William Mailer / Friedrich Mahler * John Christian Graas as Benjamin * Cyril O'Reilly as Decker * Geoffrey Blake as Logan * Lisa Robins as Scotch * David Wells as Pinstripes *

Larry Cedar Larry Frank Cedar (born March 6, 1955) is an American voice, film and television actor, best known as one of the players of the Children's Television Workshop mathematics show '' Square One TV'' on PBS from 1987 to 1994. He played Max, Alex the ...

as Hank, The Controller * Al Pugliese as Coach * James Greene as Professor Longstreet

Language note

At a crucial moment in 1943 Germany, Mailer has a conversation in German – without subtitles – with Mahler. Mailer tries to explain, in faltering German, that he is Mahler's son and that he needs to tell him what happened to the aircraft during the bombing run. Mahler responds in German that ''he has no son''. Once Mahler is shot and killed, Mailer ceases to exist.

External links

* * * {{rotten-tomatoes, the_philadelphia_experiment_2 1993 films 1993 independent films 1990s science fiction action films Alternate Nazi Germany films American alternate history films American independent films American science fiction films American aviation films American sequel films American dystopian films Films about time travel Films set in 1943 Films set in 1993 American World War II films Trimark Pictures films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films

Plot

Cast

Language note

See also

External links