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William Hurt is fantastic in this film as the brilliant scientist (Dr. Eddie Jessup) who is disillusioned with ‘normal’ life & seeking a greater truth beyond the boundaries of science & religion. The supporting cast are also brilliant. Blair Brown as Jessup’s long suffering & concerned wife, Bob Balaban as his friend & colleague, Arthur (a familiar face from films such as close Encounters of the third kind & 2010) & Charles Haid as the highrate a initially highly sceptical (and it his to be said hugely entertaining) Mason Parish.
Often these types of films can come across as cheesy & more comical than frightening. This is more often than not accompanied by poor acting, which doesn’t help matters as the actors rarely come across as convincing given the situations they find themselves in. No such problems with Altered States. I think it’s a classic example of the genre & demonstrates that as weird & unlikely as a plot might be it can still come across as convincing genuinely eerie if handled right i.e. good acting, good script, compelling story line & maybe some decent special FX. All to often these days the special FX seem to be put before everything else & as such films of this genre lack substance & usually don’t amount to much outside of the box office. For me the special FX in this film still stand up & look good. They are of the kind that’s become something of a lost art in the world of digital CGI FX overkill! The trip sequences are extremely surreal & somewhat disturbing in parts but there are some great sequences that definitely start to mess with your head! The part where Dr.Jessup regresses into primitive man is very eerie & convincing.
IMO a classic of the genre. They simply don’t make them like this anymore. I’d give this film 4 stars overall but I’m stretching to a 5 because it’s a personal favourite.
Rating: 5 / 5
Are you looking for something different? This film is most definitely that. I am writing this in a post-hypnotic buzz after just watching this film and I’m still a little spaced out.
I think I just sat through 90 minutes of people yelling at one another in a mad demented professorial kind of way. The acting was real and everything fitted well. This movie keeps you thinking all the way through; it grabs your mind and sucks, then keeps on sucking.
This is not a horror movie, but it has a sharp edge of horrific to it. Jessup walks that edge throughout, in his passionate search for answers. This film has the feel of ‘too good to be true’, where you are aware that something is enjoyable but it could all go horribly wrong at any moment. Jessup keeps you balanced at that point, not knowing whether his next experiement will destroy him. Expertly done.
This is certainly not a ‘live happily ever after’ kind of movie. It will leave you with questions, but not the usual sort of ‘huh, so what was that about?’ which you get after some particularly bad script writing. Prepare to question life, the nature of the universe and existence.
Rating: 5 / 5
There’s something about this movie. Released around the time of such visual breakthroughs as Alien and Blade Runner it concentrated its visual onslaught into premeditated segments which were definately ‘out there’.
Its basically a retelling of Jekyll & Hyde (I think) but with a modern flavor given by mind-altering mushrooms and dangerous post-grad experimentation with frontier psychology.
Its a visual treat even now. The shot of Jessup arriving at the party, framed in light like some angelic visitation, still makes me smile. Not subtle but it was followed by a conversation about single men at parties involving peanut butter which is part of its charm.
Though it gets rather silly at the end its a cracking story which hopefully no rich Hollywood idiot will ever try to remake.
Rating: 5 / 5
This film first scared me about 12 months before I saw it – there was an article in OMNI magazine featuring a selection of stills, which freaked me out.
It was, therefore, with some trepidation that I approached a chance to see it at the cinema. I have it at home now and it really is so well-made that it still “does it to me” even after all this time. This is largely due to the marvellous score by John Corigliano.
I think that Blair Brown’s performance as the hapless wife is hugely underrated. The FX were groundbreaking then and still highly effective now.
My personal scariest moment is the one where one of Jessup’s subjects “trips out”. Her facial expression and the words of the script conspire to make me uneasy even now.
Rating: 5 / 5
i found this sci-fi fantasy/horror film to be interesting.it has all the earmarks of a David Cronenberg film,but it isn’t a Cronenberg film.it’s certainly bizarre,to say the least.it vaguely echos Stanly Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.it’s a real psychedelic trip,that for sure.this is one case where its all about the journey,not the destination.the ending isn’t necessarily all that satisfying,and that could make the movie pointless,depending on how you look at it.for me,getting to that point was interesting,and yeah,maybe the ending could have been more satisfying.but i don’t think that was the point.for me,Altered States is a 3/5
Rating: 3 / 5