Altered States (1980)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Professor Eddie Jessup	William Hurt	½
Emily Jessup	Blair Brown	½
Arthur Rosenberg	Bob Balaban
Mason Parrish	Charles Haid
Margaret Jessup	Drew Barrymore
Young Rosenberg	Evan Richards

Review

Despite its unique subject matter and cerebral approach, Altered States turns out to be a messy, unwholesome and ultimately kitschy movie. Professor Eddie Jessup wraps things up in a painful final scene in which director Ken Russell concludes an otherwise alternative film with the mushiest of clichés. With that said, the film wouldn't have been memorable had it kept its initial tone either. The writing simply isn't good enough. Paddy Chayefsky is said to have disowned the movie before its release, and whether the reason was that he was unhappy with his own work or with Russell's realization of it, one can't help but understand him. The script misses the mark in crucial scenes, and as a result, Altered States can't maintain the level of suspense that would have made it a real chiller. William Hurt shows potential in his feature film debut, but would go on to far better performances in the following years. Look for little Drew Barrymore as the daughter.