Not exactly your run-of-the-mill X-mas flick, Altered States was a mindbending journey through inner space. William Hurt was electrifying and utterly believable as a brilliant genetic researcher who thinks God can be found inside human genes. He uses hallucinogenic drugs combined with sensory deprivation to tunnel into his own DNA. Problem is, when he comes out something comes with him. This all time sci-fi/horror classic, which is also one of the most profound love stories ever set to celluloid, is refreshing in its basic assumption that its audience was intelligent enough to get it. They not only got it—they bought it.