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Plot

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. Unhappy with the finished product, Chayefsky had his name replaced with his pseudonym Sydney Aaron.
MPAA Rating:
R
Genre(s):
Horror,Foreign
Run Time:
103min.
Theatrical Release Date:
01/22/1991
DVD Release Date:
12/29/1998
Director(s):
Ken Russell
Starring:
William Hurt , Blair Brown , Bob Balaban , Charles Haid , Drew Barrymore
Themes:
Experiments Gone Awry
Tone:
Chilly,Creepy,Hallucinatory,Menacing,Ominous,Paranoid,Tense
Keywords:
consciousness,drugs,experiment,hallucination,homemaker,mutant,obsession,repression,rescue,roommate,science-runs-amok,scientist,sexual-fantasy,woman,writing
Language:
English