MovieChat Forums > Altered States (1980) Discussion > First part.....really good.........then ...

First part.....really good.........then ape man showed up and got bad

posted 17 years ago by punkypwap
12 replies | jump to latest

The first part of this movie was really trippy and creepy and was pretty good. But when the apeman shows up things started to get really stupid. It seemed like movie became one of those old 60's/70's monster slasher movies with a bunch of dorky scientists sitting and walking around talking about stuff the audience barely understands and it goes on forever.

And something I noticed........the ending of this movie with William Hurt pounding against the wall to become his oldself reminded me of the ending of a-ha's video "Take On Me". Check it out and you'll see the resemblence.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Drillbitch 17 years ago

FYA The A-ha video was made well after Altered States and the ending was inspired by it.

Question: Did you ever hurt yourself to make somebody sorry?

[–] filMADicted 17 years ago

this movie may i say is an astonishing work of visual art. absolutly beautiful.
i will say the apeman scene was kinda bad. the idea wasn't bad but the scene seemed really corney to me. omg that tweak out scene newar the end good god that is as close as it gets to a visual orgasm.

[–] terror_and_submission 17 years ago

If the movie had continued with the ape man concept going into like a werewolf-type storyline it would have sucked. But it's used properly in the concept of his backwards evolution.

[–] achooJudasChrist 17 years ago

I totally agree. The movie was intense and visually stunning until that apeman BS. The lame interpretaive running, the ricotta cheesy noises/screams he yelped, weren't his eyes electric blue also? Really lame especially since I thought it was a great film before all that ape crap. I would recommed it to friends but warn them that it get's pretty cheesy at a certain ponit but the 1st half is a must see

[–] gnolti 17 years ago

The ape man takes up maybe fifteen minutes of the film. The story is after all about Ed Jessup's regression to the "First Thought", which is why the ape man is only one phase of the transformation. Maybe the scene could have been shortened, but it was essential to the process.

Sorry, I wasn't listening -- or thinking, whichever one applies.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Davidreefer 16 years ago

the ape scene rules! And it was clearly paid homage to in Walk Hard:Dewey Cox when Dewey tries angel dust.

[–] scarlettsdad 9 years ago

I don't think he was an ape man, but a prehistoric man. The character had gone back to his "first form." That may be what you're all referring to as an ape man or what the radiologist called "a gorilla," but the two would be different.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] againstglobalism 8 years ago

Agreed. I mean, what was the director thinking?! Everything was going so good, and then it all got ruined with the "ape man".