Episode 7: Into the Void - Altered States and the Horror of Consciousness

Dave explores Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) as #14 on his top-20 1980s horror countdown, summarizing the plot, key performances, and the tumultuous creative team behind the film.

He examines the movie's central themes — sensory deprivation, psychedelic experiments, evolutionary regression, and the inward search for meaning — ties them to real-world science and personal experience, and closes with a reflection on love and human connection as the film's emotional anchor.