Altered States
In this 1980 sci-fi horror film, William Hurt plays Eddie Jessup, a scientist obsessed with discovering mankind’s true role in the universe. To this end, he submits himself to a series of mind-expanding experiments. By enclosing himself in a sensory-deprivation chamber and taking hallucinogenic drugs, Jessup hopes to explore different levels of human consciousness, but instead is devolved into an apelike monster. Director Ken Russell helmed ALTERED STATES from a script by Paddy Chayefsky, who adapted his own novel of the same name. With William Hurt, Blair Brown, Drew Barrymore, Bob Balaban.
“Extraordinarily daring for a Hollywood film, ALTERED STATES attacks the viewer with its inventive, aggressive mix of muddled sound effects and visual pyrotechnics.” (Rotten Tomatoes)
“I was overwhelmed, I was caught up in its headlong energy.” (Roger Ebert)
“It’s by turns pseudo-analytical head-twister and skull-pounding monster romp, including glorious whip-crack dialogue.” (Total Film)
“Dependably — even exhilaratingly — bizarre. Its strangeness, which borders cheerfully on the ridiculous, is its most enjoyable feature.” (New York Times)
Wednesday, October 21
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm
ALTERED STATES (Ken Russell, 1980 / 18A / 102 mins) Respected Harvard scientist and psychology professor Edward Jessup decides to combine his experiments in sensory deprivation tanks with powerful hallucinogenic drugs, convinced that it may help him unlock different states of consciousness. The experiments are a success at first, but as Jessup continues his work, he begins to experience altered mental and also physical states. As he spends more time in sensory deprivation, his grip on reality begins to slip away.
