Altered States (1980)
Surprisingly sober considering the subject matter.
There are a few silly moments during 'cellar dweller' scene which probably could have been trimmed or framed differently but other than that it's a fine entry in the slightly over reaching sub-genre of 'exploration of the self' science fiction films.
Other examples being the interesting but too worthy Brainstorm (1983) the awful The Lawnmower Man (1992) and the flawed but underrated The Cell (2000).
It only really feels like a typically Ken Russell film during the earlier religious based hallucinations.
Nice performances all round including a rare performance by Bob Balaban as a tweedy scientist (joke).
Fringe fans will no doubt gawp at a young and very sexy Blair Brown featuring in a film which foreshadows with a much straighter face some of the material featured in that show.
Four magic mushrooms.
Crimes Of Passion (1984).
Ken wanders into Brian De Palma territory here by riffing Hitchcock but with a lot more cock than hitch.
As much as I love the wonky weirdness of Body Double of the same year I think this film wins by a nose by virtue of having a heart.
Underneath all the sleaze and anarchic outrage is a very simple tale which is bizarrely romantic as far as any film with a sex crazed street preacher seeking redemption through a razor sharp dildo can be.
Anthony Perkins and Kathleen Turner are grand in this, John Laughlin and Annie Potts are playing dull characters so don't get much of a chance to do anything.
Three quaaludes and a pair of crotchless knickers.