The Psychedelic Sci-Fi Horror With a Conspiracy-Laden True Story Behind It

The Big Picture

• While David Cronenberg may be the master of body horror, Ken Russell’s
  Altered States
  is the perfect gateway movie for the subgenre.
• Released in 1980, the movie follows a scientist, Dr. Eddie Jessup, played by William Hurt.
• Altered States
  is loosely based on the life of John C. Lilly, who invented sensory deprivation tanks.

To put things simply, body horror is one of the most upsetting subgenres under the greater horror umbrella. Any time you fire up one of these flicks, you’re bound to be grossed out beyond belief. This particularly vile brand of scares stems from one’s body turning against themselves. The key word here is “themselves.” Body horror cannot be classified with a story that revolves around one being harmed by another — this subgenre is all about the disturbing changes that our bodies make that are out of our control. Most often, this is seen in the form of unnatural deformities, bizarre violations of one’s physical being, mutations, or disease. Another common element found in this subgenre is that the victims are harmed by meddling with something that they should have left alone. The Fly would be the chief among these! But hey, at the end of the day, it’s nice to know that these stories are nothing but that — stories! So, when you fire up a picture by a master like David Cronenberg or an underrated filmmaker like Shinya Tsukamotoonce the credits roll, you’ll be relieved that it was all just a movie… right? These stories aren’t true, are they?

The answer is yes… for the most part. While body horror most often mixes things up with a heavy dose of science fiction, not all of these movies are completely rooted in fantasy. Altered States is the quintessential example of fact-based body horror. While this 1980 cult classic isn’t entirely a true story, it’s about as close as any of these movies get. It’s based on research conducted by John C. Lillya counterculture neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, and conspiracy theorist who studied the effects of using sensory deprivation tanks, particularly while under the influence of psychedelics. Altered States takes some of Lilly’s story and research, uses it as a narrative foundation, then flips everything on its head with the grotesqueries of pulsating and bulbousing body horror. In Lilly’s place is Dr. Eddie Jessup (William Hurt), a scientist whose LSD-tinged sensory deprivation research leads to mind-blowing physical and psychological changes to his being. This is the best kind of body horror movie, one that grosses you out and shatters your expectations all at once. You’ll never be able to guess what’s coming next in Altered States.

‘Altered States’ Is a Trippy Venture Into the World of Body Horror and Evolution

If you’re an up-and-coming body horror fan who’s looking to break beyond the masterful grasp of David Cronenberg, then Altered States should be your next move. Ken Russell‘s 1980 psychedelic chiller isn’t your typical body horror extravaganza. There’s hardly any gore at all! Don’t be fooled, though. This movie is pretty gross at times, but it’s far more interested in tripping you than it is making you throw up. Dr. Jessup spends a large chunk of the movie submerged in sensory deprivation tanks while under the effects of psychoactive drugs. Russell often spends these moments giving us a glimpse at what Jessup is experiencing. That’s when we go with William Hurt’s character to a total green screen world, where he is superimposed over images of nature, cosmic flourishes of colorful light, and all sorts of other trippy images. That, or Jessup’s body is seen as a glowing, fuzzy silhouette or warped with a silly putty-like texture and decorated with all kinds of scientific wiring. Altered States‘ fantastical visuals are where it’s at its best.

‘Altered States’ Makes Up For a Lack of Gore With Psychedelic Visuals

Body horror heads shouldn’t get their hopes up too much. While this film does certainly fall under the subgenre’s constraints, it’s a pretty mild experience. Altered States features some pretty nasty images, ranging from Dr. Jessup’s skin crawling with baseball-sized growths, to his feet growing into some sort of devolved form. Gorehounds are bound to be disappointed by the lack of Brundlefly-level nastiness. Russell doesn’t seem as interested in giving us a movie that grosses us out as much as he is in creating striking, truly inspired images. Instead of taking the typical bloody, gutsy approach to body horror, he would rather warp Dr. Jessup’s physical being into various trippy forms. Without spoiling things, Dr. Jessup’s anatomy does end up undergoing a pretty out-there transformationbut it’s one that is more intended to make you wonder what’s real and what isn’t, rather than making you reach for your barf bag.

‘Altered States’ Is Loosely Based On the Life of Scientist and Conspiracy Theorist, John C. Lilly

Given the bizarre directions that Altered States takes, by the time the credits roll, you won’t second guess what the film’s fantastical elements are. John C. Lilly, the real life scientist that Dr. Jessup is based on, has a far less grotesque life story. Instead, our friend, Lilly, enjoyed getting high, hopping in sensory deprivation tanks (which he invented!) and hallucinating. He also had a fascination with interspecies communication, particularly with bottlenose dolphins, which he came to start looking into during his involvement in the S.E.T.I. – the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence). So not only was Lilly looking to expand his own mind, he was trying to hear the ideas of other species!

Lilly’s scientific trips ended up taking him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theoriesa field that he became widely influential in. While his ideas ranged from everything alien-related to communicating with other species, he got pretty out there with many ideas. One involves an organization called the E.C.C.O., otherwise known as the Earth Coincidence Control Office, which is believed to be “made up” of three astral beings that control all behavior on our planet. Another reportedly found him believing that he was sent from space as a messenger from a galactic federation. Lilly was anything but your average scientist.

In Altered StatesDr. Eddie Jessup, similarly uses sensory deprivation tanks and travels to distant communities to conduct his research, but is far less interested in conspiracy theories, and is more interested in the deevolution of sorts of the human body. He does discuss some pretty maddening ideas throughout most of the movie, but the movie isn’t interested in sharing a platter of cosmic theories to get stoners’ minds working. In a way, Altered States is just a divorce drama about Dr. Jessup and his wife, Emily Jessup (Blair Brown), how one’s work can consume their passions to the point of separation, and the lengths that the widow of the relationship will go to bring their former spouse to a healthier mental place. It just so happens to explore this theme of divorce with trippy visuals and a devolving scientist. Fun!

Most people have found their way into body horror through the works of David Cronenberg, and there’s nothing wrong with that! He’s the master of this subgenre, after all. That being said, if you’re actually just snooping around and looking for a way in, then Altered States is your way to go. It’s not quite as gross as most of these movies get, making up for its lack of gore with a plethora of inventive, other dimensional sights.

Altered States is available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.

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