Altered States

If you're a lover of strange, psychological horror-thrillers, you're in for a treat with this one, for Altered States has it all.

Dr Jessup (William Hurt) is a research scientist at Cornell Medical College who is fascinated with the various states of human consciousness. He has been studying the effects of isolation on the human psyche by conducting tests with his students and an isolation tank. Intrigued by the results, he decides to place himself in the tank, and with the help of his sidekick, Arthur Rosenburg (Bob Balaban), spends several sessions recording his physiological and psychological changes. Everything seems to be going smoothly enough, until he hears of a tribe in Mexico that uses mind altering 'magic mushrooms' that produce similar sorts of results and decides he must learn more about it all.

In Mexico, he partakes of a ceremony and has one incredible 'trip' that both frightens and inspires him. He returns to the States with a large sample of the drug and combines his isolation research with his 'magic mushroom' research and although the results become more and more horrific, and the dangers increase, it is when he finds that his altered consciousness is also resulting in physical alterations that he becomes obsessed with proving that the changes are not just in the mind, but that he physically regresses as well.

Those around him such as his wife and colleagues are urging him to quit, yet they are unable to deny he's onto something. The results begin to take them all by surprise, and the consequences are enormous. Like a spoiled and obsessed child, Jessup, on the point of no return, must fight as hard as he can to remain in the same state as the rest of us, but no one is sure he can actually do it, or whether he really wants to. These scientists are a crazy bunch!

"She's still crazy about him. He's still crazy."

This is quite a weird film when you strip away the layers of drama and romance. Neither are overly important, for it is the horror and science fiction elements that define this film. Jessup's study of man's altered states is the fascinating thing, and how those around him try to reel his passion in while at the same time striving to keep their own curiosities in check. The acting is first rate, the music, and sound and visual effects are quite impressive, and although the first ten or 15 minutes plod along, the rest of the film seems to race along at breakneck speed.

Turf the kids into the games room, turn down the lights, and prepare yourself for quite a trip. It may take a while for some of the pieces to fall into place, but your patience will be rewarded.

There is good and bad in this release. The bad is that it is in NTSC, and the good is that it gets a release at all. It's highly unlikely that this film (and others like it with limited market appeal) would ever be released in Region 4 if a PAL version was the only option as the costs are not justified. So the NTSC version it is and you’ll need to make sure you are NTSC compatible at home.

There are two aspect ratio options, depending upon which side of the disc you watch. One side is a pan and scan version, the other is in 16:9 enhanced 1.78:1 ratio. However, the latter is just the pan and scan version 'cropped' (the top and bottom have been cut off and replaced with black bars) so that it fills a widescreen TV. Either way you are not going to see the film in its original aspect ratio.

This aside, there are the usual issues with a film of this age and lowly importance in the big scheme of DVDs. The image is a little on the soft side, but perfectly acceptable. Colours are generally good, but there is a lot of grain. There is some colour-bleeding, but it is not a distraction; the fashions and hairstyles will see to that and there are some shockers!

Black levels are likewise acceptable and shadow detail should not cause concern. There is no evidence of noise, but the white flecks throughout the film may be a little annoying for the finicky. At least there's no layer change...

The surprise package of this release is the rather good Dolby Digital 5.1 audio option. It was originally a Dolby Digital stereo-surround mix in the theatres, so this is quite a solid 5.1 mix. The basics are good such as audio-synch and dialogue clarity. There are a number of 'trip' scenes where the 5.1 mix really makes itself known as the rear channels kick in and the sounds and the score swirl around the room. Most dialogue is placed in the centre speaker and the score is mostly balanced in all channels, but the 'trip' scenes really stand out as the volume cranks up.

There is a great deal of low-level sound that will require a subwoofer to fully appreciate. In all, for a film of this age, there is little to fault in the audio and the benefits of a 5.1 mix are clearly demonstrated.

The few extras are quite basic, but they do add some bang for your buck. They are not brilliant, but better than nothing.

Cast and Crew: Text screen biography/filmographies of seven cast and crew members.

Behind the Scenes: The back cover more correctly calls this "Production Notes", for it is just textual information about the film.

The Isolation Tank: A tacky name for two TV Spots and a Theatrical Trailer. All have the same technical specifications as the feature depending which side you are watching and run 0:34, 1:06, and 2:17 respectively.

Reel Recommendations: This is simply text only adverts for Blade Runner: Director's Cut, Contact, Outland, and Outbreak.

Altered States is a fine film that is tough to categorise. It could be labeled horror, psychological thriller, suspense, or just plain 'weird'. It marked the feature film debut of William Hurt (and a very young Drew Barrymore), and contains a modicum of swearing, nudity, and drug taking that earned it an "R" rating upon release. These days it wouldn't get within a bull's roar of that, but it would still cut it as a good film.