[Inspector Abberline]

Altered States 1980

You pretty much know that what ever genre ken Russell worked in your always going to get something wild and bizarre,and Altered States (1980) is no different.Based on the novel by Paddy Chayefsky, it looks at a scientist William Hurt as Dr. Edward Jessup who is conducting experiments in sensory deprivation and psychoactive drugs. And while under the influence of drugs and being submerged in a flotation tank Jessup starts to show actual physical signs of regression due to the experiments he is conducting on himself. Eventually he regresses into some sort of Neanderthal man. Of course the more Jessup (Hurt) experiments the more this increases his chances of him being effected by the research.Well eventually Jessup transgress into a Neanderthal man and escapes the flotation chamber and runs amok beating anybody over the head that gets in his way. Being as this is a Ken Russell movie nothing is or seems straight forward,so when Jessup is hallucinating we get a dose of religious imagery,which include Christ crucified with a goats head,and of course a goat with a goats head.? The imagery and psychedelic images are slightly over whelming and very reminiscent of the ending in 2001 A Space Odyssey . Although the whole hallucinogenic drug taking seems right up Ken Russell;s street, the science and the science fiction parts seem lost amongst all the drug talk..Towards the end it all gets very cosmic and very weird,as the results of Jessup experiments in the isolation tank seem to be growing into a powerful energy that now exists outside of the tank and in Jessup himself. What does all this mean,? Im buggered if I know,It seems Jessup goes through all this just to appreciate his wife and family? I've never read any Paddy Chayefsky so to me it just seems like another variation on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Its not my favourite Russell film,he is much better when he is wallowing in the weirdness of sex and violence,but Altered States is still an interesting film if some what bonkers.