Creatures of the Night: Altered States Review

A walk through certain sections of Leeds city centre on Saturday night, I’m sure you’ll agree, is scary enough. The punters, lovely in the week no doubt, turn feral. As a student myself, I usually enjoy aping with the best of them. However, attempting to bust out of being a creature of habit, I turned away from town last Saturday. Instead of partaking in animal antics I went to watch Altered States instead.

Altered States is part of the Hyde Park Picture House’s Creatures of the Night festival, which sees late night movie screenings of cult classics, forgotten masterpieces, oddball documentaries and the best worst films ever made. 

Last weekend’s film was a science fiction horror directed by Ken Russell, which sees Harvard scientist Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) submitting himself to psychological tests and drug use in an attempt to define man’s true role in the universe. As a result of his endeavours he is devolved into a missing link figure, and runs amok, Saturday night Leeds style, through the streets of Boston.  His wife Emily (Blair Brown) stages a physical intervention and by the end of the film Eddie starts to value those things that make him human.

Undeniably, this film has character. The special effects have a hallucinogenic quality as you’d expect from a 80s sci-fi. Guest appearances from inquisitive rhinos and miffed elephants were greeted with laughter in the auditorium, and the film met with applause when the lights came on.  

The film is made more charming by the lack of care Russell takes with those things that just don’t matter. Bizarre plot twists are met as matter of fact, making the film wonderfully facetious.  Dialogue from the herd of scientists is often jargon based, - ‘I want to get a look at those E.E.G trexics’ - and even overlapping, meaning that it takes a back seat. 

In many ways the protagonist, Eddie, personifies the qualities of the film. The narrative opens with him floating in a tank, garbed in what can only be compared to an astronauts get up, ordering fellow scientist and minion Arthur Rosenburg (Bob Balaban) to get him out. Rosenburg is one of the most likable characters in the film, a constant stooge; he is always there to sweep up the pieces after Eddie’s Mr. Hyde like rampages.

 

Russell’s representation of Eddie’s psychedelic trips has to be seen to be believed. Safe to say the montage-cocktail of geometric shapes, Jesus, fiery fluids, goat man sex and lady lizards still has the ability to raise an eyebrow, even in these liberated times 30 years on from the movie’s release.

Eddie with Ram's head as Jesus.

The mad foray into Eddie’s subconscious is countered by the sketchy details of the external Eddie. Major life events, marriage, kids, divorce, are leapfrogged in a single camera shot. The tongue in cheek nature of the difference between his mind and reality sometimes makes for dull viewing; this is certainly a film of highs and lows.

One of these lows is the representation of Emily, Eddie’s wife. The audience meets her as she chomps suggestively on a carrot. In addition to this as she is ‘sweating out her dissertation’ on anthropology. Unfortunately it is the carrot chomping Emily that takes priority. She has ‘gut feelings’ contrasting to the terrifying rationality of the male scientists, and this does enforce a gender stereotype.

This has not impacted upon the films cult status, which would make an exciting movie itself, the production process was fraught with difficulty, including a transfer from Columbia to Warner’s as the budget his $15 million. The script is based on Paddy Chayefsky’s novel. Chayefksy disliked the story so much that he disowned it, and the film is now credited to his pseudonym, Sidney Aaron.

Eddie in psychedelia. (He hasn't just forgotten his keys,) 

Another reason the film has achieved cult status was the fleeting appearance of Drew Barrymore in her debut role as Eddie’s daughter.

This is a film that deserves its cult status, a film that never quite made it; coming runner up at the Oscars to Lucas’s The Empire Strikes Back in the sound category. The film is suitable material for Creatures of the Night. At times tacky, at times brilliant, this is one of the best worst films ever made.

Next week sees the Pink Flamingos coming to the Picture House, a journey into drug dealing, journalist chasing, furniture licking and of course, pink flamingos.  

You can watch the first section of the film (from youtube) here.