Altered States 4K 1980 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Scientist Eddie Jessup believes that altered states of consciousness are as real as reality. Using a sensory deprivation chamber and a powerful hallucinogen brought from Mexico, he tries to prove his colleagues right.

Review 4K Movie

The film is a product of the “new wave” of science fiction. The theme is at the intersection of science fiction, psychedelia, and mysticism, altered states of consciousness, sensory deprivation, shamanic practices... A good basis for intellectual cinema.

But the result is not very digestible. The first half of the film is a boring narrative about the protagonist's research, interspersed with psychedelic trips. The latter are impressive, but some of the images in the visions have no particular significance in the film—a spider-like lamb, biblical allusions... Perhaps, of course, there is some meaning in them, but they are very indirectly related to the plot and idea of the film.

Then the film turns into a dynamic thriller—as if the director himself got bored filming people drearily discussing hallucinations. And, in the end, it suddenly ends—in a grandiose, Hollywood-style way, logical and predictable, but it leaves the feeling that ten minutes were cut from the film, or that the filmmakers got tired of shooting it.

As for the idea of “Other Forms,” it is that by changing consciousness, a person can change their physical embodiment—to the point of transforming into other living beings and even transitioning into anomalous states of matter unknown to science. Delving into such research threatens loss of mind and death—and the film's protagonist has to fight this danger. The idea is interesting, of course, but it is revealed in a somewhat clumsy and strange way. And the conclusions are banal: “don't get involved—it will kill you” and “love conquers all.”

Despite all this, strangely enough, the film did not make a particularly negative impression on me while watching it. Perhaps it is because of the spectacular visual component—the main character's visions are given considerable time in the film, and I generally love films that are spectacular and bizarre, with something to look at.