This Bizarrely Captivating 35-Year-Old Sci-Fi Film Is Based on an Unbelievable True Story (2024)

Extraterrestrials and UFOs are increasingly hot topics these days, appearing in the movies as well as headlines, leading more people to wonder if they might be real after all — but this debate has been raging for a long time. Whitley Strieber's mind-blowing 1987 memoir Communion popularized the now-familiar alien tropes of big-headed, bug-eyed aliens, medical probes, and mysterious implants. The book remains a classic, but sci-fi fans may have forgotten its incomparably bizarre adaptation starring Christopher Walken.

Communion recently appeared in the frame story of V/H/S Beyond, which features author Mitch Horowitz in a fictional version of his Discovery docuseries Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction. Further conflating fact with fiction, Horowitz describes the cultural impact of Strieber's writing, which is as utterly weird as it is eerily convincing. Its even weirder screen adaptation is unlikely to win over the skeptics, but for fans of truly far-out films, it is an absolute must.

One of the Most Outrageous Sci-Fi Movies Is Based on a Real-Life X-File

This Bizarrely Captivating 35-Year-Old Sci-Fi Film Is Based on an Unbelievable True Story (1)

No mere movie could capture the strangeness of a real alien abduction, but Philippe Mora made up for this by filming one of the world's strangest movies. The wonderfully eccentric Christopher Walken plays Whitley Strieber: devoted family man, confirmed Catholic, and reluctant abductee. When he seeks treatment for severe post-traumatic stress symptoms that arrive out of nowhere, he accesses suppressed memories of violation at the hands of unearthly creatures. To keep his family together and maintain his sanity, he must learn the truth about what is happening to him.

In Communion, a traditional big-headed, large-eyed alien reveals that it is actually a more frightening creature wearing a mask. This concept is also seen in Fire In the Sky, the film adaptation of alien abductee Travis Walton's memoir The Walton Experience.

Whitley slowly recalls abduction scenarios that range from the expected — intrusive examinations by slender beings with large black eyes — to the unthinkable. In this fabulous FX extravaganza, massive praying mantises and stout blue monstrosities mingle in increasingly freaky scenarios culminating in a startling musical number tailor-made to show off some of Christopher Walken's famous footwork. Love it or hate it, Communion is nothing if not surprising, right down to the wailing, near-constant Eric Clapton guitar.

Though the paranormal part of the film is quite extreme, it is paired with warm, organic performances by Walken, Lindsay Crouse as his conflicted wife, and Joel Carlson as their young son. Walken improvised much of his material, and his costars feed his lively energy right back to him, creating an ensemble who truly seem to enjoy each other. This grounded family unit creates a strong counterpoint to the frightening absurdity of Whitley's plight.

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Whitley Strieber's Screenplay Is Even Stranger Than His Incredible Memoir

This Bizarrely Captivating 35-Year-Old Sci-Fi Film Is Based on an Unbelievable True Story (3)

When grappling with the cosmic chaos of Communion, it helps to know that it was directed by subversive artist Philippe Mora, who caused a stir in London in the '70s. One exhibit included a rat that Mora believed to be male, but when it unexpectedly gave birth, he attempted to sell the babies as if they were limited-edition prints of the original. His anti-war statement "Pork Chop Ballad," a human figure made out of meat, is a more famous work that caused a scandal described on the England & Co. Gallery website.

The police were called when Princess Margaret complained about the stench when dining at the restaurant across the street, and (gallerist Sigi) Krauss was forced to move it to the back garden where the neighbors, thinking the artwork was a murder victim, called in Scotland Yard again.

Mora is not solely responsible for Communion's shocking qualities, however. The script belongs to Whitley Strieber, who worked closely on the film. The strangest screen scenes — the intergalactic dance number, and Walken's dual role as a devious doppelgänger dressed as a magician — are not in the book, but they help underline the essentially incomprehensible nature of the abduction experience. The harder Whitley tries to gain control of the situation, the more surreal the alien manifestations become. The message is clear: Earthly wisdom is no use against extraterrestrial intelligence.

The classic alien portrait that graces the cover of the book Communion was created by Ted Seth Jacobs, based on descriptions given by Whitley Strieber. It is lovingly parodied in the X-Files episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space."

In his book, Whitley Strieber does not commit to any one interpretation of the true nature of alien encounters. UFOs may be ships driven by organisms somewhat like ourselves, but Strieber finds other possible explanations in ancient folklore, religious visions, and even in anomalous brain activity. Mora's wildly unpredictable movie helps underline the point that if humanity ever learns what is really behind alien abductions, it may be much stranger than little green men.

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This Bizarrely Captivating 35-Year-Old Sci-Fi Film Is Based on an Unbelievable True Story (2024)

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