top of page
Search

Psychic Pigs & Primordial Goo - Altered States (1980) & Upstream Color (2013)

  • James Payne
  • Sep 25
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 30

This week, we dive into the deep end of consciousness with two films that push the limits of science, identity, and human connection — Altered States (1980) and Upstream Color (2013). From Ken Russell’s psychedelic body horror to Shane Carruth’s hypnotic biological loop, these movies explore what happens when scientific obsession collides with transcendence. Expect talk of isolation tanks, sensory overloads, parasitic pigs, love as symbiosis, and whether enlightenment is just another experiment gone wrong.

“Science meets soul, and both come apart at the seams.”
ree


Episode highlights

  • Mad science of the mind: How both films reimagine science as a spiritual quest.

  • Ken Russell’s chaos: Turning Chayefsky’s novel into a hallucinatory vision of rebirth.

  • William Hurt’s descent: When the search for truth becomes a regression to the primordial.

  • From tanks to transcendence: The isolation chamber as a portal to the subconscious.

  • Shane Carruth’s symbiosis: Upstream Color and the scientific metaphor of shared consciousness.

  • Sound design & silence: How each film manipulates sensory experience to mirror altered states.

  • Identity erosion: The loss of self through science, love, and biological connection.

  • Mad science as romance: From Hurt’s chemical ego trip to Carruth’s doomed intimacy.

  • Evolution as loop: Both films close on rebirth — literal and emotional.


Chapter markers / timestamps

  • 00:00:00 Cold open: sound montage from Altered States and Upstream Color.

  • 00:00:42 Welcome & setup — exploring consciousness through science.

  • 00:02:12 Why Altered States still defines the psychedelic branch of mad science.

  • 00:05:15 Ken Russell vs Paddy Chayefsky — art film vs authorial control.

  • 00:10:48 The tank sequence: hallucinogens, regression, and religious imagery.

  • 00:17:36 William Hurt’s physical performance and body horror roots.

  • 00:22:58 From transcendence to terror — when science loses the self.

  • 00:28:30 Transition to Upstream Color: Carruth’s world of memory, control, and connection.

  • 00:30:04 The parasite and the pig — metaphor or biology?

  • 00:35:40 Love, looping, and loss of individuality.

  • 00:42:25 Visual storytelling and the language of sensation.

  • 00:49:32 Carruth’s take on scientific intimacy.

  • 00:56:40 The emotional vs intellectual experience of both films.

  • 01:05:22 Comparing endings — transformation, rebirth, or release?

  • 01:15:18 Mad science through emotion: the human cost of experimentation.

  • 01:20:44 Outro & next episode tease.


Show notes & references mentioned

Films & TV

  • Altered States (1980)

  • Upstream Color (2013)

  • The Fly (1986)

  • Under the Skin (2013)

  • Annihilation (2018)

  • Solaris (1972)

  • The Fountain (2006)

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)


People & concepts

  • Ken Russell, Paddy Chayefsky, William Hurt, Blair Brown

  • Shane Carruth, Amy Seimetz

  • John C. Lilly’s sensory deprivation experiments

  • Psychedelic science, identity theory, quantum consciousness

  • Sound as emotion — linking both directors’ sensory storytelling


Listener links

Credits

Hosts: Matt & JamesSeries: Mad ScienceEpisode: Altered States (1980) & Upstream Color (2013)Produced by: Journey Through Sci-Fi


Season: Mad Science • Subgenre deep-dive • Runtime: 1h 23m 32s


Next time

Get ready to cross the streams as we take on Ghostbusters (1984) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012) — where science and the supernatural collide in hilarious, horrifying fashion.


 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page