I saw the start of this film many years ago. It was late 80s/early 90s.
A scientist genetically modifies an algae to eat crude oil spills, but it works too well and it goes rampant, eating everything made from petroleum. He and his girlfriend somehow end up in an alternate universe just as his credit card disintegrates in his hand. They meet an older man in a horse-drawn cart. There’s some conversation about lubrication, where the older man says he has to use peanut oil. The scientist asks why he doesn’t use a petroleum based oil, which makes the older man laugh, as the algae has destroyed it all.
Thats all I can remember. Does anyone know what this film is called? Google hasn’t been helpful.
Quote from the detailed plot description on the below Wikipedia page of the movie:
“They manage to escape through the “door”, just before Thane can catch them, and end up in a world where, 15 years ago, a microbe was created to clean up an oil spill, but it ate all petroleum in the world. They hitch a ride on a wagon with Jake (Hoyt Axton) and his granddaughter Cissy (Tisha Putman), who give them a ride to the nearest truck stop.”
You can watch the movie on YouTube below. The scene where they meet the older man on a horse-drawn cart starts ca. at the 0:43:00 mark:
