At this point, long after the initial book and the movie, Strieber seems to have settled into the role of UFO guru. The value of the first book, and this movie, is that it recounts his views before he had opted to be a propagandist for his abusers.
At this point, as he states several times in the book, Strieber has not settled on any one idea of what these beings are. The idea that they are "extra-terrestrials", in the sense of being organic beings from another planet, is only one many possibilities he considers. It is also noteworthy that he makes no claim that these beings are benevolent. He is honest about the fear, pain, and discord they signify. (Point of note. His original title for the book was too be "Body-Terror". It was his wife that dissuaded him from using that title. Supposedly the visitors spoke through her, and said he shouldn't use that term, because it would frighten people away.)
While the movie lacks a lot of the details of the book, it at least captures the essentially uncanny and disturbing nature of the encounters. The disparate appearances of the entities, as well as the disjointed nature of his encounters, are very evident.
As a film, from the standpoint of technique, it's merely watchable. It stands as more of a piece of Surrealist performance art, than a film as such. So long as it's understood in this context, it's interesting enough. It's really Walken's performance that carries the movie. There are few other actors who are so adept at being humorous, distraught, and menacing, all within the frame of one character.
As the "Communion" books progressed, the tone of approval towards the visitors becomes more and more pronounced. To the point where, despite all evidence to the contrary, Strieber begins to assert that they are essentially benevolent, and have the salvation of mankind as their objective. Also, he begins the process of scrubbing the narrative, eliminating or altering details from his earlier accounts. Honestly it seems to me that everything after the first book is little more than propaganda.
One final note. If this depiction of how Anne Strieber (Whitley's wife), behaved during the course of the events is accurate, I seriously do not understand why he didn't divorce her. While I can certainly understand her being alarmed at what was happening, she exhibited virtually no empathy. All she did was stand on the sidelines, and berate him for things he had no control over. Again, that she would have doubts, fears, and moments when she lost her control would be understandable. But she seemed to have no concern for her husband's well-being at all. Speaking frankly, if I had been in his position, I would have divorced her. A person who cannot or will not stand by you when you are going through something so traumatic, and who does nothing but make the problem worse with endless carping and nagging, is not fit to be your spouse.
As an introduction to the dark side of the abduction phenomena, and as a mood-piece, the movie has value. I am just grateful that no movies were made of the latter books.
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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DVD
March 25, 2003 "Please retry" | Collector's Edition | 1 | $16.63 | $5.61 |
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June 20, 2001 "Please retry" | Special Edition | — |
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| — | $6.95 |
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