7.0
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller • 1980 • 103 min • Adults (18+)
Altered States (1980)
Altered States (1980)
Overview
A Harvard researcher doses himself with hallucinogens and sensory deprivation tanks, chasing the biological origins of consciousness and regressing toward something ancient and dangerous. Ken Russell's 1980 sci-fi horror film is a fever dream of psychedelia and evolutionary anxiety. The Leans Traditional label fits because the film's spiritual current runs against pure scientific rationalism: mystical experience carries weight, and cold atheism gets a rough ride. The marriage at the center also reads as quietly conventional, with the wife's devotion serving as the moral anchor that pulls the husband back from the void. No progressive identity politics, no ideological agenda. Just a man dissolving himself, and love as the only thing that holds.
Starring Cast
William Hurt • Blair Brown • Bob Balaban
Where to watch
Rating & Dimensions
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Leans Traditional
Political: Center
Diversity: Low
Family Values: Leans Traditional
Viewer Rating
7.0
Overview
A Harvard researcher doses himself with hallucinogens and sensory deprivation tanks, chasing the biological origins of consciousness and regressing toward something ancient and dangerous. Ken Russell's 1980 sci-fi horror film is a fever dream of psychedelia and evolutionary anxiety. The Leans Traditional label fits because the film's spiritual current runs against pure scientific rationalism: mystical experience carries weight, and cold atheism gets a rough ride. The marriage at the center also reads as quietly conventional, with the wife's devotion serving as the moral anchor that pulls the husband back from the void. No progressive identity politics, no ideological agenda. Just a man dissolving himself, and love as the only thing that holds.
Starring Cast
William Hurt • Blair Brown • Bob Balaban
Where to watch
Detailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Leans Traditional
Primary
Political: Center
Confidence: High
The film explores philosophical and existential themes of consciousness, identity, and the boundaries of scientific and mystical understanding, without promoting a specific political ideology. Its resolution emphasizes universal human connection rather than a partisan solution.
Diversity: Low
Confidence: High
The movie features a predominantly white cast in its leading and supporting roles, consistent with traditional casting practices of its time. The narrative centers on a white male protagonist and his white female partner, exploring themes of consciousness without critiquing or negatively framing traditional identities.
Secondary
Family Values: Leans Traditional
Confidence: High
The film portrays a passionate but strained marriage, where the wife's enduring love and commitment ultimately serve as the grounding force that saves her husband from his radical scientific pursuits, subtly affirming the power and importance of the marital bond.
LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High
Altered States does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative centers on a scientist's pursuit of altered states of consciousness and his heterosexual relationship, without incorporating queer identities or experiences into its plot or character development.
Trans: N/A
Confidence: High
The film "Altered States" does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. Its narrative centers on a scientist's radical experiments exploring the origins of consciousness and human evolution through sensory deprivation and psychoactive substances. The transformations depicted are biological and psychological regressions/progressions, unrelated to gender identity or transition.
Female Combat: N/R
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High
The film is a direct adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky's novel, with Chayefsky also writing the screenplay. All major characters retain their established genders from the source material, with no instances of a character being portrayed as a different gender than originally conceived.
Race Swap: No
Confidence: High
The film is an adaptation of a novel where the main characters' races were consistent between the source material and their on-screen portrayals. No characters established as one race in the novel were depicted as a different race in the film.
Hinduism: N/A
Confidence: High
Not depicted in the film.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
User Ratings
6.9
6.7
Critic Ratings
8.7
5.8
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