Communion
Tags: psychedelic

Plot synopsis:
In 1985, New York based author Whitley Strieber (Walken) lives with his wife and child in Manhattan and seems to be successful. However he is woken at night by paranoid dreams that someone else is in the room.
On a trip to the family cottage in the woods, on the first night the intruder alarm is triggered and Strieber sees a face watching him from the doorway. Bright light fills the cottage windows and wakes his son and two other family friends but his wife remains asleep.
Disturbed by this they all return to New York and life seemingly returns to normal but Strieber finds that his work and personal life are becoming affected by recurring nightmares and visions of strange alien beings including greys, blue doctors and bugs. This upsets his son and puts strain on his marriage.
After an incident at their cottage in which Strieber is so convinced that there are alien beings inside the home that he pulls his gun out and almost shoots his wife, and signs that his son is beginning to have the same visions, he is finally convinced to see a psychiatrist specialising in hypnotic regression therapy (Sternhagen).
The therapy confirms that he has possibly been abducted by unknown beings and experiments have been performed on him however he is still skeptical about it and reluctancly attends a group therapy session of fellow 'abductees'.
Eventually he realises he has to confront his visions, real or not, and returns to the cottage where most of the incidents seem to occur. He interacts with the alien beings and realises he has been in contact with them his whole life and it was passed on from his father and he will, in turn, pass it on to his son.
Making up with his family Strieber comes to accept the alien visitors as part of his life and in the last scene he sits in his office and embraces the face of a 'grey' alien.

Review: In "Communion," Whitley Strieber's autobiographical book comes to life...sort of.
Tough task...it's easy to see why the film seems diluted and without chemistry.However, this also provides the film with an atmosphere that can also help enhance the whole point, which is not "was Whitley Strieber abducted by aliens," but rather "how did Whitley's interpretation of an inexplicable event effect him and those around him?" One of the last scenes, an exchange between Strieber and his wife in a museum, conveys this point perfectly.
Some have complained about the scene in the psychiatrist's office being so bright, but I think it also helps get the message that there may be an outside presence surrounding all of us, whether we recognize it or not."Communion" is an interesting movie that suffered from a view that was perhaps too short-sighted.
If the film were made today, one can be sure the message might have been lost on overbloated special effects, and the surreal effect would've been diminished to appeal to the lowest common denominator of movie-going audiences.
The film depicts the personal and professional crises a writer experiences after a series of encounters with non-human beings.The film strongly benefits from the performances of Christopher Walken and Lindsay Crouse.
Walken (always engaging) manages the challenging task of making Whitley Strieber a compelling character; you care about him even if you don't necessarily like him 100% of the time.
Crouse succeeds as Whitley's wife; the two together are immediately believable as a married couple.The film is arguably the most intelligent film about the alien abduction/ visitor phenomenon.
This is what makes COMMUNION transcend every other film about the phenomenon.Director Phillipe Mora successfully creates a "you-are-there" atmosphere, letting the actors improvise a lot of their dialogue.
Mora's direction is subtle, with cues in both the dialogue and a detailed, occasionally wry visual style.Another plus is Eric Clapton's opening and closing theme music.This is a seriously underrated film.The director's cut (with commentary by Mora) is recommended..
Director Philippe Mora has made some bizarre movies in his time, and 'Communion' is one of the strangest.
Christopher Walken plays writer Whitley Strieber who finds his life going in a very odd direction.
He has a personality that is difficult to hide behind another persona, but which always adds a little something to it.This is a suitably creepy film, but is very realistically and believably handled, given the fantastic story matter.
One is never quite sure what is really happening...oft times it is like something out of an early David Lynch movie...lying on the borderline between funny and nightmarish.The film does make you think about all angles of the situation, especially when you consider the point of views and personalities of the people at the abduction support group that Walken's character goes to, and his reaction to it.The special effects are excellent...not gaudy, but quite realistic (for lack of a better term).I've seen the real Whitley Strieber on television and read a few of his novels.
Walken is definitely not Strieber, but I think he is the only actor who could've made this movie work..
Whitley suddenly finds himself in an alien world, where once he tells his abduction story, he becomes subject of, strangely enough, his own ridicule, but also public skepticism.
The symbolism is powerful in this movie, suggesting that it's not what is obvious, but that there is a hidden meaning behind a life-altering experience.From a creative point of view, a story like this might be quite appealing, and regarded as extravagant, but how would we cope with somebody claiming to have lived such things?
Some may view this film as a silly alien movie.
This is mostly due, I believe to, the director Philippe Mora and Christopher Walken's quirky yet memorable acting presence.This film is very eerie, frightening, surreal and disturbing.
The scenes involving his son and the other dream sequences are perhaps the most disturbing.I felt empathy for Strieber in Walken's very convincing performance.
There are some very memorable lines in this movie that will stay with you long afterwards.If you like thought-provoking, eerie, movies involving alien abduction then this may be well worth your while..
Christopher Walken gets an anal probe in this alien abduction movie.
Horrible special effects (the blue creatures are especially laughable) are one of the films biggest flaws, but the absolute biggest flaw of them all is Walken's portrayal of Streiber.
An successful novelist Whitley Strieber (Oscar-Winner:Christopher Walken), who finds himself being visited by strange creatures from another world in his cabin at the woods from the state of New York.
This independently made film is well acted and keeps your interests for making up for the movie's occasional flaws.DVD has an good anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an fine digitally remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.
"Communion" is truly an flawed film but director Mora and screenwriter Strieber (Based on his Best Selling Novel) keeps you on the edge of your seat.
I've never been abducted by aliens, and I hope to God I never am, but god damn 'Communion' is the only movie I have ever seen that has absolutely captured the primal fear, freaky mind-bending bizareness, and profoundly life changing aspects of what one of those experiences might possibly be like.
ok, I've said enough.Watch it alone, with the lights out, very late at night, and it may very well change your life.My vote for the most underrated film of all time.
The X-Files, though a good show, never quite reaches the level of freakiness that "Communion" has in moments like those in which Walken confronts the aliens.
At one point, he states upon waking up to a suspected abduction that, "I don't want to think about that so, I go back to bed." There are so many classic lines of dialogue between Walken and the aliens that the movie reaches a point where it seems almost like a bizarre, personal delusion--portrait of a madman rather than alien abductions..
Nothing has kept me up at night like that since "The Excorcist."  Sure - there is bad stuff in this film, and Walken's character is almost too eccentric to take.
The story is supposedly based on true facts and lifted from Whitley Strieber's novel, which also did the screenplay for the film.
But Walken is simply ace in a role that's fits him perfectly.The first half of the film is actually creepy with its atmospheric lighting, bone rattling sound effects and stinging score.
I got to say that the best time to watch this one - is late night I guarantee.It's not totally successful, but it's an interestingly odd project with capable direction by Mora and a sensational central performance from Walken..
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).
Christopher Walken plays Strieber, and he simply owns the film.
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..
Christopher Walken gives a compelling performance as Whitley Strieber (Strieber probably isn't this eccentric in real life).I wish I could say this film was perfect but this was not so.
Still the film is a good introduction to the alien abduction phenomenon and to Strieber's book.
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.
There are also scenes that are overly stylized, detracting from the enormity of the subject.Christopher Walken, while a fine actor, is completely off in his portrayal of Strieber.
Walken plays one of the most bizarre characters in this film.
I read the book, and this movie is different in some ways (I don't remember any blue guys in the book, for example), which is odd because Strieber wrote the screenplay.
You have to watch this movie for the pure enjoyment of witnessing Christopher Walken "do his thing"...
Make a night of it by pairing this movie up with "Brainstorm" another classic Christopher Walken performance.
Been a very long time since I watched the movie or read the book.
This movie is just insane...I don't know were to start, its supposed to be about alien abduction but it goes beyond to weird territory, i honestly saw Chistopher Walken become Tommy Wissau in some scenes, it is so surreal you think your watching a comedy when its supposed to be science fiction, i don't know what was in the directors mind when he mixed aliens and Christopher Walken, we get one of the most insane movies ever made i don't know if to compare it with Brazil or Eraser head.Its not bad or good its in a rating limbo, you have to see it for yourself to believe what your watching and trying to make sense of it, its entertaining specially if you like strange premises, i honestly would say give it a watch and judge it for the craziness that it is.
There's a close contest between the other-worldly beings and Christopher Walken as to who is creepiest in this (allegedly true) tale of a writer who isn't sure if he's being visited by aliens or by insanity.
Good alien movie with Christopher Walken.
Communion is a good alien movie that's based on a true story.
I can say I strongly recommend you see Communion!Movie Nuttball's note: If you like alien movies I also recommend the following films: The UFO Incident, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial, Time Walker, Invaders from Mars, Fire in the Sky, Independence Day, The Arrival, Xtro 3: Watch the Skies, Life Form, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Predator, and Predator 2!.
Novelist Whitley Strieber adapted his own book to the screen, a "non-fiction" account of his encounter with aliens.
Christopher Walken plays Strieber as an unassuming family man who suffers the alien encounter while vacationing in the country.
Christopher Walken gives a distractingly bizarre performance in this trippy alien abduction movie.
This kind of day to day indecision may be common in real life, but it is odd to see a character change his mind with each scene in a movie.
This movie is so bad, it's bad.A man is visited by aliens a couple times, and nothing more happens.
There are some vaguely entertaining surreal parts, when the main character encounters the aliens (both of which look like cheap X-Com rejects), but the whole fun of the surreality is that a willing viewer can briefly pretend he is not watching "Communion" and is instead enjoying an ugly acid flashback.
Communion is directed by Phillipe Mora and adapted for the screen by Whitley Strieber from his own book of the same name.
Photography is by Louis Irving, with locations for filming at Big Bear Valley and Running Springs in California."Based on the true story of one American family" It continues to be a controversial movie to this very day, its subject matter, that of alien abduction/experiments, one that ensures the most divisive of audiences.
It also feels like a collage of other sub-genre movies, eschewing the philosophy and scientific theories of Strieber's best selling book, in favour of Walken wielding a shotgun and freaking out under the inevitable hypnosis treatment.
I don't think Communion would work nearly as well, in its own sort of warped-entertaining way, without Christopher Walken.
Another actor might play Whitley Streiber- named after the author and supposedly based on the author's actual experiences with aliens- with a straight face, maybe like Richard Drefuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a down-to-earth father and husband who is good to his kid (more or less) and loves his wife and has wisecracks and an original sensibility as a novelist to spare.
But if you love Walken being "Walken", and want some cheesy alien-abduction sci-fi, you can surely look here for the goods - certainly it's a big step up from a more recent self-serious "true story" alien movie, The Fourth Kind..
I don't know who's scarier  Christopher Walken or Abducting Aliens..
Whitley Strieber, who turned his own novel into a screenplay and co-produced the film, unceasingly claims that "Communion" is based on his very own experiences as being the target of alien abduction and examination.
Now this given could easily be dismissed as a cuckoo and sensational gimmick to promote the film, but simultaneously you can't deny that Strieber and director Philippe Mora ("The Beast Within", "The Howling II") attempted – and mainly succeeded – to insert a lot more psychological depth and feeling into this film than usually the case with alien movies.
"Communion" is, above all, an extremely weird film and undeniably one that provokes thoughts and opinions that go far beyond the experiences you usually have when watching late 80's movies that deal with extraterrestrial encounters.
The author Whitley Strieber is depicted by Christopher Walken – I'll get back to his unforgettable performance later – and the movie begins somewhere early October 1985.
It's quite remarkable how Strieber and Mora manage to put the emphasis on the impact that Whitley's behavior has on his social life, rather than on the actual alien encounters itself.
If half of the film's power relies on atmosphere, than the other half definitely relies on Christopher Walken's performance!
Walken is famous for his outrageous performances and eccentric characters, but he truly surpasses himself as Whitley Strieber.
Also, on a lesser important note, you better not have seen the pilot episode of "South Park" too many times, otherwise you can't help comparing Whitley Strieber's alien encounters with the anal probes that Eric Cartman had..
I found this film to be a major disappointment, especially since the book had a powerful effect on me, and the director is a friend of the author.
The character of Whitley Strieber as played by Chris Walken is unrecognizably goofy to me, and the effects photography fail over and over to capture the imagery of the book.
I read "Communion" about 16 years ago and the feeling of terror was palpable so I waited with great expectations for this movie to see if Whitley Strieber's vision could be captured on-screen.
Walken truly gives it his all here, in service to a less-than-stellar narrative in a less-than-stellar films from an almost worthless book.The actual joy of watching this film (and I've viewed it several times now) is that it seems Walken's character is forever commenting on the film itself, with such lines as "I've got to get out of here" and some ironic looks from Christopher.
Walken plays Whitley Strieber, a man that investigates his supposed encounters with aliens.
***SPOILERS*** Based on the "true story" best selling book of the same name "Communion" has to do with the Strieber family in general and Whitley Strieber, Christopher Walken,in particular.
It's when he learns that what he went through is very common among people who claim to be victims of alien abductions that Strieber really starts to freak out!
And with that Strieber instead of running away from them starts to confront his kidnappers and with that slowly learns the real reasons for their actions which is, if true, nothing short of mind boggling to say the least!The movie based on Whitley Striebers book and screenplay has developed over the years a large cult following among the UFO and alien abduction community.
True or not the movie as well as book makes interesting reading as well as watching..
The phallic 'probe' that slides through the wall is almost hilarious, and the "aliens" were so fake-looking it is very hard to take them seriously.Overall the film comes off as an amateur production, and I'd advise anyone to avoid it like the plague ...
As I was watching this, I started with a '10' due to impact, atmosphere (I loved the NY ooze of Christopher Walken and Lindsay Crouse and the 1989 vibe as 1989 was a magical year for me - I just never realized it back then), message, blending of genres, and potential for being memorable to me (kinda like impact, lol).
As a person who used to be very interested in UFOs and all related stories (the kind that are barely a blip on the news or TV radar these days), Communion has forever left a permeant impression on my psyche.Having read the book several times back in the day, the movie sort of follows it but takes on a life of its own.
And while it does sort of cross over into the following book's territory, the movie is plagued by Christopher Walken's overall weirdness that prevents this from being a really good alien/horror movie.As much as I like CW's performances overall (you can never have enough cowbell after all) it just ruins what could possibly have been one of the better first hand accounts ever put to film.It's a shame that this never got the full attention it deserved.
above average flick is quite creepy at times with beautiful images that are sometimes down right moody and creepy it also had good character development and the acting was amazing Christopher Walken was astonishing here in my opinion he is this film and he alone makes this worth watching he was creepy funny all at the same time i cared for him and his character and i felt for him when he went through these things Lindsay Crouse is good as the caring and concerned wife she gives a credible performance and is likable good job!