Director: Philippe Mora
Screenplay: Whitley Strieber, based on the book Communion by Whitley Strieber
Starring: Christopher Walken, Lindsay Crouse, Frances Sternhagen, Terry Hanauer, Andreas Katsulas, Joel Carlson
Running Time: 105 minutes
Genre: Science-fiction, horror
New York City, 1985: Whitley Strieber (Walken) is a novelist living in Manhattan with his wife Anne (Crouse) and young son, Andrew (Carlson). During a weekend away at their cabin in the woods, Strieber and Andrew experience a bizarre visitation. Initially dismissing it as a bad dream, Strieber begins to experience bizarre recurring nightmares and displays increasingly irrational behaviour.
The film is based on Whitley Strieber's purportedly non-fiction 1987 bestseller describing his alleged abduction by aliens. The book is probably best known now for it's front cover which is regarded as one of the most iconic images of the popular "Grey" aliens. Whether you believe that Strieber was really abducted by aliens, or that he was hallucinating, or that he just made the whole thing up, this film will not change your mind. The film has some striking images, even if the special effects range from the serviceable to the pretty dire. As Strieber, Walken acts as if he's alternatively in a domestic drama and a manic comedy (apparently, the real Whitley Strieber was very unhappy with Walken's portrayal of him), when he's writing he wears a hat and films himself doing animal impressions. Another problem with casting Walken is that he is so intense he kind of unbalances the film, and is far scarier just being normal than any aliens. Lindsay Crouse does well at trying to keep the nonsense grounded. It's a frustrating film that is mostly pretty bad, but has some good moments. It plays it's hand to early by showing the aliens too early, and is too ambitious for it's own good. There are no explanations as to what the aliens want. It's become something of a cult movie, which must be partly due to the scene where Christopher Walken does a dance with little blue aliens.
The movie Fire in the Sky (1993) is a better film that covers similar ground, as indeed do many episodes of The X-Files (1993-2002, 2016-2018).
No comments:
Post a Comment