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Philadelphia Experiment II (1993) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Philadelphia Experiment II (1993) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
1993 · 97 mins · English
JustWatch #13,835 5
Directed by
Stephen Cornwell
Starring
Larry Cedar, James Jude Courtney, Geoffrey Blake, Hank Stone, Gerrit Graham, Brad Johnson

Several years after the original experiment, survivor David Herdeg and his wife Allison, whom he rescued in 1984, are raising their child when David awakens from a painful sleep to a drastically altered reality. In this timeline Germany won World War II, and America is preparing to celebrate fifty years under Nazi rule.

On this page (8)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Characters explained (5)
  3. 3 Where & when it takes place
  4. 4 Themes & meaning (3)
  5. 5 Character & meaning questions
  6. 6 Movie threads
  7. 7 Movies like Philadelphia Experiment II
  8. 8 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Philadelphia Experiment II (1993)

Where can you watch Philadelphia Experiment II? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Prime Video, Fawesome and Amazon Prime Video Free: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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5 main characters · contains spoilers

Philadelphia Experiment II Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of Philadelphia Experiment II (1993), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • David Herdeg (Brad Johnson)

    A struggling California father whose life unravels as his son Ben’s schooling falters and his finances collapse. He experiences painful episodes linked to the experiment and becomes determined to uncover the truth behind Longstreet’s deception. Resourceful and protective, he ultimately acts to repair the timeline by defying dangerous forces.

    • 🧭 Time traveler
    • 👨‍👦 Family man
    • 💼 Struggling entrepreneur
  • Jess (Marjean Holden)

    Leader of the underground resistance in the altered timeline; pragmatic, fearless, and loyal. She guides David through a dangerous new world and embodies hope within a regime of oppression. Her role ties the human cost of history to the fight for a restored future.

    • 🕊️ Resistance leader
    • 🤝 Ally
  • Benjamin Herdeg (John Christian Graas)

    David and Allison’s son, a symbol of family continuity who navigates the upheaval of a world turned Nazi. He is portrayed as curious and resilient, adjusting to a changing family dynamic and playing a role in the restored timeline.

    • 👦 Son
    • 🎒 Student
  • Professor Longstreet (James Greene)

    The original director of the Philadelphia Experiment who becomes a key resistance leader in the altered timeline. He questions the dangers of the time-travel project and motivates David to act, orchestrating a plan to avert catastrophe.

    • 🎓 Scientist
    • 🧭 Leader
  • Dr. William Mailer / Friedrich Mahler (Gerrit Graham)

    A Nazi administrator and the engineer behind the time-travel project, obsessed with proving his invention and shaping history to Nazi victory. He pursues the timeline relentlessly and serves as the principal antagonist until his ultimate defeat via a time paradox.

    • 🧬 Scientist
    • ⚔️ Antagonist

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:03

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Setting

Where and When Does Philadelphia Experiment II Take Place?

The setting of Philadelphia Experiment II (1993): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

1943; 1984; 1993 (alternate timeline)

The plot spans the 1940s, with the original Philadelphia Experiment era; it shifts to the late 20th century in California, where David's civilian life unfolds. An alternate 1993 timeline reveals Nazi domination over the United States. The narrative uses time travel to connect these periods and to attempt a rescue from a doomed history.

Location

California, United States, Washington, D.C., United States

Philadelphia Experiment II moves from modern California where David faces family and financial struggles to a parallel 1993 America under Nazi rule. The story also touches Washington, D.C. as a focal point of the occupying power and a battleground for resistance. The places reflect a jump between hopeful ordinary life and dystopian upheaval.

  • 🗺️ Contemporary setting
  • 🧭 Time travel implications

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:03

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3 major themes

Philadelphia Experiment II Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Philadelphia Experiment II (1993) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Time Travel

    Time travel drives the plot as David's past and present collide. His blood chemistry enables movement across eras, linking family danger to global consequences. The story centers on preventing paradoxes that could erase relationships and history.

  • Resistance

    An alternate Nazi-ruled America frames the struggle between oppression and rebellion. The resistance, led by Longstreet and Jess, fights to preserve freedom and to stop the Phoenix from altering history. The film explores ethics under totalitarian rule and the cost of resistance.

  • Bloodline

    David's unique blood properties are the key to time travel, tying personal lineage to cosmic cause and effect. The movie treats blood as the conduit between timelines, emphasizing heredity as a force shaping fate. The paradox ultimately restores a corrected 1993 timeline.

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 19:03

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Character & theme questions

Philadelphia Experiment II Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Philadelphia Experiment II (1993): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where does Philadelphia Experiment II take place?

The story shifts between two main settings: modern California where David Herdeg lives with his family, and an alternate 1993 America under Nazi occupation, with Washington, D.C. serving as the focal point of the occupying power and resistance activity.

  • california
  • washington dc
  • setting
  • alternate america
  • nazi occupation
Q2

What time periods are shown in the movie?

The film spans three key time periods: 1943 during the original Philadelphia Experiment, 1984 when the first experiment occurred, and a dystopian alternate 1993 where Nazi Germany won World War II and controls America.

  • 1993
  • 1943
  • 1984
  • time travel
  • alternate timeline
  • world war ii
Q3

What is the alternate history premise of Philadelphia Experiment II?

The alternate timeline depicts a 1993 America where Germany won World War II, resulting in fifty years of Nazi rule over the United States. This dystopian setting creates the resistance storyline that drives much of the film's conflict.

  • alternate history
  • nazi america
  • world war ii
  • dystopian
  • occupation
Q4

How does time travel work in the film?

Time travel is tied to David's unique blood chemistry, which was altered during the original 1943 experiment. His blood serves as the conduit between timelines, allowing movement across eras and enabling the paradox that ultimately corrects the altered history.

  • time travel
  • blood chemistry
  • paradox
  • david herdeg
  • timeline
Q5

What role does the resistance play in the story?

The resistance, led by Jess and Professor Longstreet, fights against Nazi occupation in the alternate timeline. They work to preserve freedom and use David's time-travel ability to stop the Phoenix project from altering history, representing the struggle between oppression and rebellion.

  • resistance
  • jess
  • longstreet
  • underground
  • freedom
  • nazi
Q6

Who is David Herdeg in Philadelphia Experiment II?

David Herdeg is the protagonist and survivor of the original Philadelphia Experiment. Now a struggling California father, he experiences painful episodes linked to the past experiment and becomes determined to uncover the truth and repair the timeline when reality shifts dramatically.

  • david herdeg
  • protagonist
  • survivor
  • father
  • brad johnson
Q7

Who is Jess in the movie?

Jess is the leader of the underground resistance in the Nazi-controlled alternate timeline. She is pragmatic, fearless, and loyal, guiding David through the dangerous new world and embodying hope within the oppressive regime.

  • jess
  • resistance leader
  • marjean holden
  • underground
  • freedom fighter
Q8

What is Professor Longstreet's role in the story?

Professor Longstreet was the original director of the Philadelphia Experiment who becomes a key resistance leader in the altered timeline. He questions the dangers of the time-travel project and motivates David to act, orchestrating the plan to avert catastrophe.

  • professor longstreet
  • james greene
  • resistance
  • scientist
  • original experiment
Q9

Who is the main antagonist in Philadelphia Experiment II?

Dr. William Mailer, who uses the alias Friedrich Mahler in the alternate timeline, is the Nazi administrator and engineer behind the time-travel project. Obsessed with proving his invention and shaping history to ensure Nazi victory, he serves as the principal antagonist until defeated through the time paradox.

  • dr mailer
  • friedrich mahler
  • antagonist
  • nazi
  • villain
  • time travel engineer
Q10

What does the bloodline theme mean in the film?

The film emphasizes that David's unique blood properties, altered during the original experiment, are the key to time travel. This ties personal lineage to cosmic cause and effect, presenting heredity as a force that shapes fate across timelines.

  • bloodline
  • heredity
  • blood chemistry
  • fate
  • family
  • david herdeg
Q11

How does family drive the story?

Family serves as the emotional core of Philadelphia Experiment II. David's love for his wife Allison and son Ben drives his desperate mission to restore the timeline. The threat of losing his family to the paradox creates the personal stakes that motivate his actions throughout the film.

  • family
  • allison
  • benjamin
  • son
  • love
  • protection
Q12

How does the alternate timeline get corrected?

The paradox created by David's time travel ultimately restores the correct 1993 timeline, reversing the Nazi-dominated America and bringing back David's original reality. The ending is happy, resolving the central conflict and restoring the protagonist's family life.

  • paradox
  • restoration
  • happy ending
  • timeline correction
  • alternate history resolved

Movie threads

More Movies Like Philadelphia Experiment II, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Philadelphia Experiment II tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Alternate History Thrillers like Philadelphia Experiment II

Thrillers where a fractured timeline creates a desperate race to restore reality. If you liked the urgent, dystopian tension of Philadelphia Experiment II, explore more movies where characters navigate alternate histories. These sci-fi stories feature high-stakes action, complex time paradoxes, and desperate struggles to fix a broken timeline.

  • dystopian
  • tense
  • urgent
  • high-stakes
  • anxious
  • paranoid
  • Tone: tense, paranoid, desperate
  • Pacing: fast, urgent
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread typically begin with a catastrophic event—often scientific or temporal—that fractures reality, creating a grim alternate present. The protagonist, often an ordinary person, must navigate this dangerous new world, ally with a resistance, and execute a perilous plan to reset the timeline, balancing world-saving stakes with deep personal loss.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their shared foundation in 'what if' scenarios gone wrong, generating a consistent vibe of urgent anxiety and high-stakes action. They blend complex sci-fi concepts with the visceral fear of a dystopian setting, creating a tense, fast-paced viewing experience.

Family Rescue Mission Movies like Philadelphia Experiment II

Action-driven stories where saving a loved one is entangled with saving the world. For viewers who enjoyed the emotional core of Philadelphia Experiment II, this thread features movies where a desperate parent's quest to save their child becomes a high-stakes mission with global implications. These stories blend intense action with a powerful emotional drive.

  • desperate
  • urgent
  • high-stakes
  • emotional
  • tense
  • father-son
  • Tone: tense, heavy, urgent
  • Pacing: fast, driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a parent or partner who experiences a catastrophic event that separates them from their family—often by shifting them to a dangerous new reality or timeline. Their journey is twofold: a desperate, physical race against time to find their loved ones, and a larger, often accidental, fight against a powerful oppressive force, with the personal and global conflicts converging at the climax.

Why they belong together: This thread connects films through a potent mix of high-intensity action and a heavy emotional core. The similarity lies in the protagonist's dual motivation: a deeply personal, relatable goal (saving family) that fuels a larger, more epic conflict, creating a compelling and emotionally resonant adventure.

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Every angle

Philadelphia Experiment II (1993) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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