Altered States

A wacky, hallucinatory take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In his first film role, William Hurt plays Professor Jessup, who uses psychedelics and sensory deprivation in an isolation tank to try to enter a more primitive state of consciousness and find answers to questions about human origins and our evolutionary past imprinted in our genes. His obsessive quest to know the unknowable and to find out what was at the beginning of everything and what our function is in the universe, increasingly disconnects him from reality and his loved ones. The psychic transformations are soon followed physical ones, and a trippy ride begins that gives even the last act of Kubrick's A Space Odyssey a run for its money. The film jumps between impassioned pseudo-scientific and quasi-philosophical discussions, unfolding at breakneck speed (hats off to the actors), and breathtaking trippy visuals, replete with stunning optical and sound effects. Altered States is exactly the kind of film that teeters on the edge of masterpiece and utter bullshit. Either way, it's an unforgettable sensory experience, especially when seen on a big screen with a proper sound system. (06/20/2005)

Especially in the first half, in which the film’s creators strike a darker tone, this film could pass for on of Cronenberg’s better flicks, with hallucinogenic scenes that Hieronymus Bosch would be proud of (the eight-eyed goat will stay with me for a long time). The subtle special effects involving bodily metamorphosis are fine and the film works on an interpersonal level as well, mostly on the incredible strength of William Hurt, who was in top form as an actor in the 1980s. I could have done without the ape theme, though, which seemed to have been transplanted from a slapstick B-movie. And it’s a shame that Ken Russell didn’t have the balls for an open ending along the lines of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The pedantically spelled-out denouement made me feel bad. (08/16/2020)