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Ah, the psychedelic journey. It’s a twisted and tortured trip and in Ken Russell’s Altered States, it’s a very primitive one. Russell (director of The Devils, Gothic, and Lair of the White Worm) was hired on after the original director, Arthur Penn, balked at Warner Bros constant interference with the project and the film – as mindbending as some of its visuals are – is served all the better for it.
The story of one scientist’s rapidly increasing experiments involving isolation tanks, drugs, and the devolution to primitive man could easily have gotten out of hand. Altered States, however, remains guided and doesn’t blink twice until the very end. In the years since its release, the film has been referenced by television in shows like “House”, “South Park”, and “Psyche”; its dialogue and music has been sampled by DJ Shadow, Bring Me The Horizon, and Ministry. Fox’s “Fringe” has also swiped more than a storyline or two from it (including its lead actress). That’s quite a pop culture legacy for a film that was neglected by most upon its initial release.
The year is 1967 and Dr. Eddie Jessup (William Hurt in his film debut) is working on some strong sensory depravation juju. His studies of schizophrenic patients have led him to believe those individuals are simply in touch with another plane of reality. Working with a colleague, Dr. Arthur Rosenberg (Bob Balaban), he attempts to reach the point where a similar mental state can be achieved by a non-schizophrenic…namely himself, but goes even deeper than expected.
Yes, we know it never turns out well when scientists experiment on themselves. We simply can’t look away. Jessup does not, however, roid out into a raging green muscle monster. He simply experiences the unconscious and sees disturbing images – masterfully rendered through odd superimpositions, bizarre colors, and Dick Smith’s makeup effects - that haunt him and recall the passing of his father.
Lured in by the strong sense of spirituality – crucifixes and devil-sheep - associated with these head trips, Jessup becomes obsessed with venturing down the proverbial rabbit hole. Eventually, he lets his marriage to Emily (Blair Brown) dissolve into a casual nothingness. He pushes limits he shouldn’t with the help of an anthropologist friend, Echeverria (Thaao Penghlis), and a strange Mexican tribe of natives who allow him to be a part of their intense ceremonies.
The visions only increase. Normalcy is escaping him and Primal Man (Miguel Godreau) is all about him. Altered States was written by three-time Oscar winner Paddy Chayevsky, but is credited to Sidney Aaron due to on-set disputes and a general dislike of how the film was handled by studio executives. This is yet another wrinkle in the film’s wrought-filled production history.
Even still, Altered States comes out a winner.
It may half-ass its sudden and undeveloped ending and boggle the mind with a bit too much science speak at times but – armed with a steady stream of rich visuals – Altered States will shake your world up. This film simply will not tell you what it’s about. You’ll guess it’s going in one direction and slap you upside the head with a sudden turn. It’s never chaotic; it has to in control, but – oh – is it ever so very uneasy.
The death of God is an atypical subject for mainstream Hollywood to tackle. It’s certain to offend and, complete with a fearless script that dares to ask the unanswerable, Altered States will certainly confuse. That being said, the combination of just about all the Universal Monster flicks into one matter-of-factly science fiction film is a moody must see.
MPAA Rating: R.
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