Review – Altered States

Here’s one of the great boomer conceits: their drug experiences back in the 70s could become so profound that they’d actually manifest themselves physically. The plot is a lot of pseudo-religious, pseudo-scientific claptrap, and the characters are usually little more than annoying (except for Charles Haid’s character, who was the only one that was probably supposed to be annoying but instead ends up charming in an irascible sort of way). But the film is still worth it for the visuals. The hallucinations, irrelevant as most of them are, still provide a good deal of visual impact. And for my money the shot where the ape-creature is chasing the janitor down the hall is one of the great stomach-knot-producing moments in film history. Mildly amusing