Communion (1989)

Powerful

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

-- The Book:I just read the book last month, and it was a very anticipated read (with me having seen the movie years prior and the book being a best seller and all). And in this case, I wasn't all that thrilled after reading it. Don't get me wrong, it's a great book. Whitley has a clever writing-style. He fights a constant psychological battle, on the one hand coming up with evidence that he really was abducted by aliens, while otherwise trying to refute the experience with other, more rational explanations. He also, at times, delves into folklore and mythology, though he only scratches the tip of the iceberg and doesn't really develop nor support any theories. This book's really about him and his experience. Makes up for an interesting read, but the downside is, that the book becomes very repetitive after a while. Strieber keeps on going over the same events that happened on two nights in such a way that after a while he really isn't adding anything new. Not a new angle, nor a new light on the matter. And at such times, it gets a little harder to sit through his whole story. Nevertheless, it's an interesting read, and great material to compare to the screenplay of the movie (also written by Strieber).-- The Movie:The 1989 adaptation is one that grew on me. I just finished watching it for the 3rd time (after quite some years), and I like it better now. The film itself is actually more entertaining than the book, so again, Strieber managed to write a clever adaptation. True, near the end the story gets quite fragmented, and results more in the telling of anecdotes than actually trying to wrap up an already incoherent story (note that I'm not using the word 'inconsistent', because Strieber is very consistent in his way of telling the events, both in the book and the movie). It's fun, though, noticing little details that he left out of the movie. Sometimes Strieber devoted a whole chapter in the book to a certain anecdote, while in the movie it gets reduced to nothing more than one line of dialogue (obviously carrying a lot more weight than you'd at first imagine). Christopher Walken plays Strieber, and he simply owns the film. It's great to see him walk and talk through this whole movie. The special effects are really neat and surreal at times, which fits the atmosphere of the movie. I'd say COMMUNION is really worth a watch. Reading the book gives you a more in-depth look on what happened and might help you to understand how the movie came to be.

I saw this in original release and recently viewed it again with a friend who'd never seen it. What I remembered about the film was obvious in seeing it again. This is the most bizarre performance Christopher Walken has ever given on screen. It's as though he personally finds the story insanely funny (and for many, Streiber's visitors in the night schtick is a joke), and he seems to be winking at the audience and barely restraining himself from rolling his eyes. Whether or not this movie works for you depends almost solely on whether you buy into Streiber's personal alien abduction mythology. I don't. Alien abduction may be an open question, but I see Streiber as an opportunistic huckster. So for me the film is third-rate sci fi. It's a little spooky in the beginning, but as it unfolds you'll understand why Walken seems to be laughing at a private joke all the way through the movie.

I was the Elec. BestBoy. It was a casual show (good for non-union), we all had fun, nobody got hurt, and it was a summer of work during the Writers' strike of '88 (or whenever that one was). I can't say it was a great movie, but Walken is an ........................ interesting fella. Good. For the alien exam sequence (shot at the HW Athletic Club while it was being rebuilt) I took some great (if I say so!) photos of him and Mora in the set. Kodak Tmax 3200 looked good! No still man on the show, no real publicist, no pix; whatever. Worth renting? No. Good times.Oh my, that was only three lines of text, and they want ten. Guess I need to hit 'return' more often. Anyway, the gaffer was Kevin Williams. I wonder what he's doing these days. Last I talked to him, he was fixing up houses in Bakersfield or something. Fun guy; may he find his way. Is this enough now?

This is an extraordinary film which portrays the intense experience that victims of 'alien abduction' go through. This is a well documented phenomenon and the descriptions from people who believe they have undergone them have much in common. The subject was even researched by a professor at Harvard, the late Dr. John E. Mack, which ended up putting his career on the line. Dr Mack believed he was near to the truth about what was happening and this film may also be a step in the right direction towards a definitive explanation. Christopher Walken is superb in the role of Whitley Streiber, a rather wacky and annoying New York writer, who encounters alien beings at his country house. The first sight he has of the creature in his bedroom is one of the most intensely frightening scenes ever filmed and is the beginning of the real life nightmare Strieber and his family are then plunged into. Their further experiences are in turn scary, comic and disturbing and the film offers no easy answers as to exactly what this all means. There is however a lot of food for thought and anyone with the slightest interest in the subject of alien abductions should watch it.