Retro Blood 194: Communion (1989)

Join James Kline and J.H. Alison as we close out It Came from Outer Space Month: Part 2 with one of the strangest alien abduction films of the 1980s—Communion starring Christopher Walken. Was James high enough to handle it? Apparently not.

We kick things off with quick thoughts on this surreal and unsettling film based on Whitley Strieber’s bestselling novel. Alison breaks down why adapting the book was no easy task and how the movie differs from the source material.

In our Weekly History Segment (Nov. 10, 1989):
👊 In wrestling, we talk Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair in a steel cage showdown in our hometown of Asheville, NC.
🎸 In metal, Alison covers Ministry’s The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste and the gritty scene of industrial metal in ’89.

Then it’s all about Communion’s behind-the-scenes chaos:
📚 Author Whitley Strieber hated Walken’s performance—hear why.
🎥 Director Philippe Mora’s vision and his relationship with Strieber.
🗽 NYC filming details, casting choices, and Christopher Walken's… unique acting decisions.

Finally, we dig into the film itself: Walken’s wild-eyed journey through alien encounters, probing, dancing, and oddly tender extraterrestrial moments. We compare the book’s psychological terror with the film’s surreal tone—and of course, Anne giving Whitney a hard time the entire runtime.

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