Looking For The Name Of A Film Please

[joko]

it was early late 80s -early 90s i think.
sort of virtual reality, simulation world etc

there was an advertising guy, who was in a large fancy board room with about 12 people sitting around a large table, all in suits, having a meeting about a product advert.
there was some mention of a red and white helter skelter and a child at the top.
the childs POV was like he was high above the clouds, but in reality it was a normal helter-skelter.

the guy starts to have weird visual disturbances - in which, his vision would flicker and catalogue code numbers would appear on things - as though it was a brochure of stuff, each item flickered and showed a title of what it was, as though programmed into his vision

eventually he gets out of the building and soon everything has numbers - and he sees diffeerntly to everyone else - and goes to his parents and tthey are a bit like pleasantville, and wont listen to him.
he discovers the real world is a decrepit, filthy, rotten garbage strewn *** ... but everyones minds are being programmed to see everything as lovely and clean.
people were also rotten, ill, scabby etc

some how he found out it was being controlled by one source and he was determined to get to it and turn it off - he meets a woman who helps him

there is some kind of twist at the end - turns out the world is not rotten and they'd shown him that hoping he'd want to stay in the fake one - i think

when the control beacon is finally off - everywhere is clean and plain and beige, carboard and wearing sack type material with codes printed on them. and theyre free.

the main guy was a white guy with short black hair and the woman i think was white but olivey toned skin with long dark hair.

Any ideas?

thanks :)

[ABerrant]

A bit later (2000) but perhaps Virtual Nightmare...

https://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/virtual-nightmare-2000/virtual-nightmare-2000.html

[joko]

oh wow thats it! thanks so much!
i could have sworn it was much earlier than 2000!
I had a feeling it had virtual in the title but could couldnt find anything

[jackthehat]

I watched it on the Horror Channel on Tuesday afternoon!!
What a coincidence...

[ABerrant]

... and it's being shown again 3pm Sunday.