Main Cast: Christopher Walken, Lindsay Crouse, Joel Carlson, Frances Sternhagen, Andreas Katsulas
Release Year: 1989
Country: US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Adapted by Whitley Strieber from his book about his alleged contacts with aliens, Communion dramatizes a story all the more compelling for the author's insistence that it is true, complemented by Christopher Walken's enigmatic performance as Strieber. The film begins in October 1985, as Strieber is living in New York City with his wife Anne (Lindsay Crouse) and son Andrew (Joel Carlson). He is hunting for new book ideas without making much headway. He spends his days pacing around his apartment, thinking out loud or videotaping himself as he improvises bits of dialogue. It is soon decided that a vacation is in order, so, with their friends Alex (Andreas Katsulas) and Sara (Terri Hanauer), the Striebers head for their cabin in Upstate New York. In the middle of the night, an illumination descends on the cabin and surrounding forest, causing Strieber to wake up abruptly. In the semi-darkness of the cabin, he is able to make out a long face with narrow, tear-shaped eyes quietly observing him from a corner of the room. The next morning, he has forgotten -- or been made to forget -- the whole experience. He even shrugs off Alex's and Sarah's concern about "seeing lights" outside their bedroom window, claiming to have slept through the event. Back in New York, it becomes evident to Strieber and his family that something unusual did happen. He begins to have powerful hallucinations, and, after an inconclusive medical examination, he is encouraged by his wife to seek professional help from psychiatrist Janet Duffy (Frances Sternhagen). During hypnotic regression therapy, Strieber's lifelong contact with the "visitors" is brought to light, as well as the details of his more recent encounters. Still unable to accept these revelations, he returns to the cabin alone and finally communicates with the visitors, discovering that, although they are unable to reveal their true identity, their purpose may be to act as agents of personal transformation for himself and for others. An interesting and uneven film, Communion is bolstered considerably by Christopher Walken, whose role in the film, though appropriate for the subject matter, quickly transforms into a thesis on his own eccentricities as an actor. ~ Anthony Reed, All Movie Guide
Terri Hanauer - Sara; Basil Hoffman - Dr. Friedman; Diane Behrens; Paul Clemens - Patrick; Maggie Egan - Nancy; Holly Fields - Praying Mantis Girl; Aileen Fitzpatrick - Mother; Irene Forrest - Sally; John Dennis Johnston - Fireman; Sally Kemp - Laurie; Joshua Miller - Tall Boy; R.J. Miller - Father; Dee Dee Rescher - Mrs. Greenberg; Paula Shaw - Woman from Apartment; Juliet Sorcey - Second-grade Girl; Kate Stern - Woman on Bus; Johnny Dark - Lab Technician; Andrew Magarian - Man in Hallway; Vince McKewin - Bob; Madeleine Mora - Baby Girl
Credit
Dena Roth - Art Director, Hal Hilnes - Animator, Penny Perry - Casting, Dan Allingham - Co-producer, Philippe Mora - Co-producer, Edward Simons - Co-producer, Whitley Strieber - Co-producer, Malissa Daniel - Costume Designer, Philippe Mora - Director, Lee Smith - Editor, Gary Barber - Executive Producer, Eric Clapton - Composer (Music Score), Allan Zavod - Composer (Music Score), Michelle Buhler - Makeup, Pamela Westmore - Makeup, Linda Pearl - Production Designer, Louis Irving - Cinematographer, Steve Frakes - Special Effects, Jim MacPherson - Special Effects, Michael McCracken - Special Effects, Paul Stewart - Special Effects, Whitley Strieber - Screenwriter
Communion is a 1989 drama/thriller film based on the book by Whitley Strieber with the same name, starring Christopher Walken and Frances Sternhagen. It tells a story of a family that experiences the extraterrestrial phenomenon while on vacation at a remote vacation home in the wilderness. According to Strieber, the story is a real-life account of his own encounter with "visitors", with Walken playing the role of the author.
Novels: The Wolfen (1978) | The Hunger (1981) | Black Magic (1982) | The Night Church (1983) | Warday (1984) | Wolf of Shadows (1985) | Nature's End (1986) | Cat Magic (1986) | Communion (1987) | Transformation (1988) | Majestic (1989) | Billy (1990) | The Wild (1991) | Unholy Fire (1992) | The Forbidden Zone (1993) | Breakthrough: The Next Step (1995) | The Secret School (1996) | Confirmation: The Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us (1998) | The Coming Global Superstorm (2000) | The Key (2001) | The Last Vampire (2001) | The Path (2002) | Lilith's Dream: A Tale of the Vampire Life (2002) | The Day After Tomorrow (2004) | The Grays (2006) | 2012: The War for Souls (2007)
