Communion (1989)

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 ... See full summary »

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:

On December 26th, 1985, Whitley Strieber had a dream. Weeks later, he discovered his family had the same dream. Months later, he made the most shocking discovery of his life. Now, you will discover it.

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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 title-drop in the book is very different and more significant.

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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

Alex: Take us HOME Whitley!

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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 Watchman Video Broadcast: UFO's: Chariots of the Beast (2011)

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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.