FilmsAltered StatesLike this

Films like Altered States.

Altered States (1980) reads as Sombre, kinetic, extreme sci-fi / horror, surreal in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

Hex (1980) poster
1. Hex1980

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the white-knuckle intensity — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Boxer's Omen (1983) poster
2. The Boxer's Omen1983

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the strange, dreamlike logic — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Web of Death (1976) poster
3. The Web of Death1976

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness; trades toward a strange, dreamlike logic.

Tommy (1975) (1975) poster
4. Tommy1975

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the strange, dreamlike logic — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Black Magic (1975) poster
5. Black Magic1975

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Heaven and Hell (1980) poster
6. Heaven and Hell1980

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness; trades toward a strange, dreamlike logic.

The Fly II (1989) poster
7. The Fly II1989

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Bat Without Wings (1980) poster
8. Bat Without Wings1980

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness; trades toward a strange, dreamlike logic.

Scanners (1981) poster
9. Scanners1981

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the white-knuckle intensity; trades toward a pitch-dark outlook.

The Bride with White Hair (1993) poster
10. The Bride with White Hair1993

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Fury (1978) (1978) poster
11. The Fury1978

Keeps the bone-dry seriousness and the white-knuckle intensity; trades toward a pitch-dark outlook.

Phantasm II (1988) poster
12. Phantasm II1988

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the bone-dry seriousness — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

These are Altered States’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

Find my film for tonight — 60 sec →