Altered States

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Altered States

R,

1980,

1h 42m,

Sci-Fi

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Watchlist

85%

53 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

53 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Respected scientist and psychology professor Edward Jessup (William Hurt) 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.

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Critics Consensus

Extraordinarily daring for a Hollywood film, Altered States attacks the viewer with its inventive, aggressive mix of muddled sound effects and visual pyrotechnics.

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Lawrence O'Toole

Entertainment Weekly

Oct 15, 2025

C+

As trashy entertainments go, this one’s sometimes pretty swell.

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Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Aug 16, 2014

It opens at fever pitch and then starts soaring -- into genetic fantasy, into a precognitive dream of delirium and delight.

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Ian Nathan

Empire Magazine

Aug 16, 2014

3/5

It's got Russell's trademark eccentricity (read: slight bonkers-ness) all over it, which you may take as a warning or a recommendation.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Sep 18, 2026

6/10

It reflects certain experimental leanings of Russell, bolstered by William Hurt’s energetic performance, yet its surreal sci-fi horror narrative occasionally becomes uneven and relies heavily on gimmicky visual flourishes. [Full review in Spanish]

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

May 23, 2026

6/10

...may be taken as a warning about encroaching on customs you don’t understand and/or trying to isolate induced experiences from their cultural context.

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Dec 26, 2025

3/4

merges science fiction with heady counterculture drug-speak, producing an overheated mishmash in which technology and spirituality unlock the secrets of human evolution

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Albus S

Jan 28, 2019

This is quite possibly the best movie in my attempt to watch movies that came out before I was born. I'm on the fence about Ken Russell and this is definitely his magnum opus. His use of very trippy visuals and a very interesting concept take what probably would've been too slow in the wrong hands and makes it work.

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Jan 26, 2019

The best sci-fi movie ever made! With the best movie score ever composed!

Harry P

Jan 1, 2019

ON SECOND WATCH: My final film of 2018, in hopes that a lot of things will take alternative turns this year: That my dissertation will finally come together enough for a coherent abstract statement, that the state of the nation will become more just and empathetic, that my desire for knowledge will lead me to new ideas, new art, new worlds, new states of being. Earlier in the dayï¿ 1/2"unlike other "reviews" (or whatever the hell these notes to myself are), I suppose I won't talk about the movie as much as I will myself, this being a movie about ego and consciousness, after allï¿ 1/2"my wife and I had our first experience using sensory deprivation chambers, which was more my thing than hers. It wasn't quite the psychedelic, mythopoetic, hallucinatory phantasmagoria as the movie makes it out to be, but both open the psyche to itself in their own wonderful ways.

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Finn W

Jan 1, 2018

Altered States starts off well and the intense early visions are very reminiscent of classic Ridley Scott. This film falls apart in the latter half and its decline accelerates towards the end. The special effects were ground-breaking in the pre-CGI world of the late 70s. These don't hold up today. The viewer wants this film to be good, but the plot and story are too silly to hold up. The special effects get worse. If Scott would have stuck with the quality of the protagonist's early visions, this film may have become a classic. Worth watching. Check the VHS bin of Wal-Mart for this one.

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Hermione G

Jul 15, 2017

One of the great trip movies

Anakin P

Jul 7, 2017

This movie will mindf*ck you. Hard. Hands down one of the best sci-fi flicks I've ever seen.

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Ken Russell

Director

William Hurt

Professor Eddie Jessup

Blair Brown

Emily Jessup

Bob Balaban

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Synopsis

Respected scientist and psychology professor Edward Jessup (William Hurt) 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.

Director: Ken Russell
Producer: Howard Gottfried
Screenwriter: Paddy Chayefsky
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 1980, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Dolby, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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