Communion (1989)

Oct.4 and Dec.26 the Strieber family drives from NYC to their cabin in the woods. Both nights there are some powerful lights outside and maybe aliens. The dad is mentally affected by the "bad dream", goes to the shrink and is hypnotized.

Director:

Philippe Mora

Writers:

Whitley Strieber (book), Whitley Strieber (screenplay)

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Lindsay Crouse, Frances Sternhagen

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Walken	...	Whitley Strieber
Lindsay Crouse	...	Anne Strieber
Frances Sternhagen	...	Dr. Janet Duffy
Andreas Katsulas	...	Alex
Terri Hanauer	...	Sarah
Joel Carlson	...	Andrew Strieber
John Dennis Johnston	...	Fireman
DeeDee Rescher	...	Mrs. Greenberg (as Dee Dee Rescher)
Aileen Fitzpatrick	...	Mother
R.J. Miller	...	Father
Holly Fields	...	Praying Mantis Girl
Paula Shaw	...	Woman from Apartment
Juliet Sorci	...	Second Grade Girl (as Juliet Sorcey)
Tifni Twitchell	...	Teacher
Joshua Miller	...	Tall Boy (as Joshua John Miller)

Storyline

Whitley Strieber goes with his family and some friends to his holiday home in the forest. They experience some weird occurances, are they UFO activity? Whitley is abducted and then faces a horrible dilema; was I abducted or am I going mad? He sees a psychiatrist who tries to use hypnotic regression to discover the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

ufo | screenplay adapted by author | outer space | boy | paranoia | 

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Taglines:

The true story of one man's terrifying journey into the unknown.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Besucher

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,919,653

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Vision, Pheasantry Films, The Picture Property Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The filmmakers had one week in NYC for filming exteriors. During this time, director Philippe Mora was assigned an assistant director who turned out to be elderly and deaf. The deafness led to some difficulties, but things managed to work out for that week.

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Goofs

When Whitley leaves his vehicle in the 'final' visit to the cabin, the camera cuts to the entire cabin drenched in light. As he starts approaching it you can clearly see the source of light as a spotlight at the top right of the screen.

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Quotes

Whitley Strieber: Oh, these crazy women.

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Alternate Versions

The Fox TV version suffers from some poorly executed video signal enhancements; the brightness level of bright objects has been boosted and digitially diffused. This adds to the ethereal atmosphere of the "ship" and hides some of the flaws in the special effects. However, because it was applied to the entire tape, even the late afternoon sunlight streaming into Dr. Janet Duffy's (Frances Sternhagen) office appears to be the Second Coming.

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Connections

Referenced in The Fourth Kind (2009)

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Soundtracks

PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ
Written by Irving Berlin
(c) Irving Berling Music Corporation

User Reviews

One of Walken's best - an eerie portrayal

I have read the book and seen the movie and wasn't disappointed by either. I am a Strieber fan so appreciated what risks he took to write this autobiographical novel. It's true the book does have a different feel to the 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. It's not a feel-good movie but is definitely thought-provoking, just like the novel.

This is definitely one of Walken's best movies. I was impressed! Also Joel Carlson does a great job as Strieber's son, Andrew. 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. I felt drawn to the character and his family.

I find myself watching this film every few years and as I do it is more rewarding each time. 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.