10 Horror Movies That Wage War On Your Senses
4. Altered States
Fans of director Ken Russell will not be surprised to see him included on this list, but for the uninitiated, a little context is necessary.
Russell made a name for himself in the seventies for producing the most over the top films he could on relatively small budgets. Highly regarded for the shocking masterpiece The Devils, as well as his dazzling rock-opera Tommy, many of his other ventures have sadly fallen into obscurity.
Perhaps his most unsung treasure though is his foray into sci-fi horror with 1980's Altered States.
A film that explores the idea of unlocking one's mind through taking copious amounts of psychedelics and locking yourself inside a sensory deprivation chamber. That ultimately turns out as well as you'd imagine and all manner of mind-melting hijinx ensue, leading to some of the coolest, creepiest, and most out-there scenes to ever grace the silver screen.
This film is nothing short of crackers, with several trippy and hard to follow hallucination segments that really put your eyes and ears under some strain. It weaves an interesting narrative and features some great character building, but it's the dizzying freak out scenes that truly make this one worth seeing.