Cast (in credits order, courtesy of the
imdb):
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
Dee Dee Rescher .... Mrs. Greenberg
Aileen Fitzpatrick .... Mother
R.J. Miller .... Father
Holly Fields .... Praying Mantis Girl
Paula Shaw (II) .... Woman from Apartment
Juliet Sorcey .... Second Grade Girl
Tifni Twitchell .... Teacher
Joshua John Miller .... Tall Boy
Kate Stern .... Woman on Bus
Johnny Dark .... Lab Technician
Jonathan Fromdahl .... Whitley (5 years)
Andrew Magarian .... Man in Hallway
Basil Hoffman .... Dr. Friedman
Paul Clemens .... Patrick
Maggie Egan .... Nancy
Irene Forrest .... Sally
Sally Kemp .... Laurie
Vince McKewin .... Bob
Whitley: You've broken my mind.
Filmed in 1989, Communion was a psychological thriller based on the book of the same name. Written by Whitley Strieber and based on occurences of the supernatural sort that Mr. Striber to this day believes to be real. (More information on Strieber can be found at http://www.unknowncountry.com.)
Synopsis: Strieber's family and some friends go on vacation in a cabin in upstate New York. After a series of strange events with dream-like quality, Strieber begins to question his sanity and wonders if he has been abducted by aliens. He sees a psychiatrist and participates in regression therapy to try and discover the truth.
For me, personally, this film was incredibly creepy and definitely one of Walken's best roles. I watched it in the fall of 1992, I was all of 16 at the time, and I swear to God I did not sleep well again until the age of 21. The abduction scenes were marvelously filmed and left you feeling that shivery feeling up the back of your spine. The dialogue between Walken's character and his abductors is sometimes brilliant, sometimes funny. You really get to feeling sorry for this guy. Interesting to note, the word alien isn't really ever mentioned in the movie, just implied.
This film gets two types of reaction:
1) What a piece of rubbish, a waste of film, etc.
2) Thanks a lot, bucko, now I can't sleep.
I leave it to the viewer to decide.