Rentals

Altered States

Mad scientists, mutants, man-machines and mind-bending trips - these films connect with our human biology and chemistry.

Whether pushing the limits of the human body or bioengineering new futures for the species, many of these films owe much to the stomachchurning virtues of their special effects. In an age where bio-machining is well under way and the planet seemingly destined to face increasingly difficult challenges to its survival, this is sci-fi territory which feels more potent than ever. Unraveling the mysteries of the mind is another sci-fi specialty, of course, and in Altered States you’ll find films that evince the hallucinatory power of cinema, play with our memories and generally mess with our minds.

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The Untamed The Untamed

Horror 2016 98 mins Director: Amat Escalante

Amat Escalante follows Heli with a boundary-pushing, mind-blowing mix of sex, sci-fi and social drama.

Rent for £3.50

The Endless The Endless

Horror 2017 112 mins Director: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson

Two brothers who escaped a cult are drawn back in by a mysterious message… Acclaimed directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring) return with another hybrid piece of raging intensity.

Film: Possessor

Rent for £3.50

Possessor Possessor

Horror 2020 104 mins Director: Brandon Cronenberg

In the near future, a cool and ruthless assassin who uses other people’s bodies to carry out execution-style killings comes unstuck when her latest vehicle resists.

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Upstream Colour Upstream Colour

Science Fiction 2013 96 mins Director: Shane Carruth

Shane Carruth’s startlingly original and beautifully conceived drama follows two lovers as they recover from infection by a mind-altering parasite.

Currently unavailable

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Drama 2004 103 mins Director: Michel Gondry

Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet play the couple who fall in love so quickly it seems they must have known each other in a past life ... only to discover they did.

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The Congress The Congress

Drama 2013 123 mins Director: Ari Folman

Ari Folman’s follow up to Waltz with Bashir is a hallucinatory fable about an actress whose digital image is controlled by a Hollywood studio.

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Splice Splice

Horror 2010 104 mins Director: Vincenzo Natali

Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are scientists who create an animal-human hybrid that develops at an alarming rate and soon grows out of control.

Currently unavailable

Behemoth the Sea Monster Behemoth the Sea Monster

Horror 1959 69 mins Director: Douglas Hickox and Eugène Lourié

A radiation-spouting prehistoric creature emerges off the Cornish coast and begins making its way towards London, in Britain’s answer to Godzilla.

Currently unavailable

Creature from the Black Lagoon Creature from the Black Lagoon

Horror 1954 79 mins Director: Jack Arnold

Jack Arnold’s monster classic about the discovery of a prehistoric, amphibious Gill-man that takes a shine to a female expeditionary.

Currently unavailable

The Andromeda Strain The Andromeda Strain

Science Fiction 1971 131 mins Director: Robert Wise

Veteran director Robert Wise’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s sci-fi novel is an alien virus epic with superb special effects and a suspenseful climax.

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The Final Programme The Final Programme

Science Fiction 1973 86 mins Director: Robert Fuest

Wild adaptation of Michael Moorcock's novel about a playboy's search for the lost designs of the perfect self-replicating human.

Currently unavailable

The Giant Gila Monster The Giant Gila Monster

Horror 1959 75 mins Director: Ray Kellogg

This low-budget addition to the creature features craze of the 1950s sees a giant lizard emerge from a Dallas ravine to terrorise teenagers.

Currently unavailable

Doomwatch Doomwatch

Science Fiction 1972 92 mins Director: Peter Sasdy

Dr Del Shaw and the Doomwatch team investigate sinister effects of pollution on a small island in this big-screen spin-off from the cult BBC series.

Currently unavailable

Island of Lost Souls Island of Lost Souls

Horror 1932 70 mins Silent Director: Erle C. Kenton

A highly controversial adaptation of the H.G. Wells story about a mad scientist creating half human/half animal creatures on his island kingdom.

Currently unavailable

The Thing The Thing

Horror 1982 109 mins Director: John Carpenter

Twelve men at an Antarctic research station battle a shape-shifting alien that hides in human form, in John Carpenter’s ground-breaking sci-fi horror.

Currently unavailable

The Incredible Shrinking Man The Incredible Shrinking Man

Science Fiction 1957 81 mins Director: Jack Arnold

One of the classics of 50s sci-fi sees the title character in the unfortunate position of continually shrinking following exposure to radiation.

Currently unavailable

Man without Desire Man without Desire

Fantasy 1924 108 mins Silent Director: Adrian Brunel

A sumptuous silent drama of love, frustrated desire and suspended animation in 18th-century Venice.

Currently unavailable

Slaughterhouse-Five Slaughterhouse-Five

Comedy 1972 103 mins Director: George Roy Hill

This adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel follows Billy Pilgrim’s journeys in time as he flits between WWII Dresden and a future on planet Tralfamadore.

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Midnight Special Midnight Special

Science Fiction 2015 112 mins Director: Jeff Nichols

Jeff Nichols, the acclaimed chronicler of American delirium, presents an imaginative sci-fi about an otherworldly child pursued by the FBI and a shadowy cult.

Currently unavailable

Videodrome Videodrome

Fantasy 1983 87 mins Director: David Cronenberg

James Woods and Debbie Harry star in David Cronenberg’s mind-melting sci-fi about media domination.

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The Wall The Wall

Drama 2011 104 mins Director: Julian Roman Pölsler

A woman holidaying at an Alpine hunting lodge discovers she’s been encircled by a mysterious, invisible force-field, in this highly original exploration of solitude and survival.

Rent for £3.50

Open Your Eyes Open Your Eyes

Thriller 1997 119 mins Director: Alejandro Amenábar

Alejandro Amenabar’s signature science-fiction drama follows a young man who falls for his dream woman, before he is disfigured in an accident.

Rent for £1.00

Rose Red Rose Red

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1994 19 mins Director: Simon Pummell

Simon Pummell's (Bodysong) visually ravishing sci-fi thriller exploring the future of virtual reality and the desire to transcend human limits.

Rent for £2.50

The Man Who Changed His Mind The Man Who Changed His Mind

Horror 1936 63 mins Director: Robert Stevenson

Boris Karloff stars as Dr. Laurence, a scientist who has devised a way to put one person’s mind into another’s body.

Film: Inception

Currently unavailable

Inception Inception

Crime 2010 148 mins Director: Christopher Nolan

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Christopher Nolan's mindbending thriller, in which a highly trained team attempt a heist inside their target's mind.