worth seeing for one scene. - Communion (1989) Discussion

[–] Sleepingunderice 20 years ago

What happens? Please don't say buy the movie or wait until it's on TV because it's never on in England, aw come on you've made me curious now

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[–] djshatter 20 years ago

Spoiler----- and only because I love you brits. He walks down the stairs of his cabin , camera pans the room and very quickly(but really spooky) you see the stereotypical alien head slowly move back behind a cabinet of sorts. Scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. Rent it,don't buy it. Cheers.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] slushyice 20 years ago

I haven't seen this movie in so long, but the movie scarred me for life. The scene where he's in bed, and the alien opens his door and peeks it's head out from behind the door...... I was about 9 when i saw that, and thats about all i needed to get me running for cover. Great movie though, I want to review it again and see it now that i'm so much older.

--Tom

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[–] PFloyd1983 20 years ago

Wow...it's great to see that I wasn't the only one who saw that part of the movie as a kid and was scarred for life. The image is permanently seared into my mind's eye.

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[–] Dudeman89 19 years ago

i saw that when i was young and i swear on my life i will never forget it,that gray is a permenant part of my life and it will be till i die,i hate it so much and everytime im alone or its quiet i get honestly terrified, im horribly paranoid.but i am so glad that i am not alone to be scarred by that crazyness,hurray for the brotherhood of the guys who were scared by the gray peeking from behind the dresser!

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[–] kommando_v 18 years ago

yeah, that scarred me when i was young...i'm over it now, but for years when i was a child i would sleep in the fetal position with covers over my head cuz i thought aliens were gonna eat me...haha...that also has to do w/ my illnesses but blah...

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] SunshipBalloons2011 20 years ago

I saw this movie with my younger brother when I was nine and neither one of us have recovered since. Especially from that scene with the alien peeking behind the door. We took turns staying up that night making sure those big-eyed bastards didn't take us. It's funny to know that we are not the only ones that seem to have that image burnt into our heads. The house we grew up in had motion detecting lights that would pop on during the night at the slightest movement by nearby animals, people walking, etc. That really did not help things. That damn movie.

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[–] hsmi6281 20 years ago

*Puts hand up*

Also scarred for life at the Alien peeking around the cupboard in his living room.

Became a Walken fan from this movie.

The painting from the book cover/movie poster/dvd cover is one of the most chilling images ever painted I reckon. Captures perfectly what so many people find terrifying about these things. Taps into something primal.

Also the head peering at him in the spaceship, when it just cuts to a closeup of the head... and the little guys dangling around... ewww

"Maybe it wasn't a spider... that I saw"...

Classic. Scarriest movie hands down.

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[–] TRhett 10 years ago

The painting from the book cover/movie poster/dvd cover is one of the most chilling images ever painted I reckon. Captures perfectly what so many people find terrifying about these things. Taps into something primal.

Funny you said that - I saw some story about "famous/effective/creative book cover designs" somewhere - and this was #3 (#1 was "East of Eden," #2 was "A Clockwork Orange." I can (barely) remember when this book was the "big thing" (back when there were a lot of bookstores, not just amazon). EVERY bookstore you walked by had stacks of that ULTRA-CREEPY cover lined up everywhere they could fit it. That was probably the most effective (as far as attention-getting) image ever, and probably sold more books than anything else about this whole story!

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[–] TRhett 9 years ago

The painting from the book cover/movie poster/dvd cover is one of the most chilling images ever painted

I was about to say the SAME thing (about the book cover). I remember when that book was in stores . . . and EVERYWHERE you looked, those black eyes were staring at you (this was back when there were still bookstores all over the malls, and lots of places sold books). I guarantee you that cover sold more books than any other cover in history. A true testament to the power of the image and graphic design. And yes, I too was young when I saw this movie, and it scared the sh-t out of me (although I was old enough to understand the psychological elements . . . was what he was seeing real, or was he crazy?).

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[–] ratherbebocce 8 years ago

If this thread is deleted, you can be sure it is an alien cover up.
EVERYONE REMEMBERS !
And if you laughed at it, that's just because it is buried too deep in your psyche.

And yes, it scared the crap out of me (the book, too).

I'm sorry baby, I had to crash that Honda.

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[–] kristaroo-1 18 years ago

okay, most of you guys were kids when you saw this and it scared you...
umm... I was well into my 20's when I first saw this movie and that scene with the alien peeking scared the everlovin' poo out of me... and it still does

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[–] errrika 19 years ago

Oh my word. It's so strange that that this one scene has messed with so many kids' heads and stayed with them into adulthood. Nobody I know has seen this movie to share in the paranoia that I've had to deal with in the past approximately 15 years of my life.

I was alone in my mother's room watching the news one night, because they had a 5 min or so long segment about alien abduction. They were doing the intro, and they showed the clip where the alien peeked around the door... and I felt my little world crashing around me. I've always had to check around and I still get scared in my bed in the dark if I am alone. I am 22 years old, it's pathetic!

I'm renting this tonight to see if it still has the same effect on me all these years later. :]

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[–] Zeats 19 years ago

"Is that someone there?" - creepy.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] nomadk3-1 18 years ago

Ohhman yeah, It was the same for me as a kid, one of the scariest moments in movies for me that one, ill laugh at horror movies and such, as they dont really scare me, and gore dont affect me much, but aliens that take you from your bed,**shivers** a real stunner of a movie, a bit weired but theres some real scarey moments in this one,
it just the way the door slowly opens and you dont expect a alien ""grey"" to pop its head around it like that, and they way he tries to wake his wife, but she wont wake up....a real primal fear nightmareish situation that one, will give you nightmares for weeks lol

strangely about 9-10 years ago when i first moved out of my parents house and into an apartment of my own, about a week after i moved in, my mother and father thought it funny to play a joke on me, it was about 11pm ish and i was sitting watching tv with the lights off when i heard this strange scratching sound,
I got up to hear it coming from the front door as i moved to the door i peeked out of the little window it had in it at the top, when this freaking green glow in the dark face of a grey moves across it in front of me, strangly instead of freezing up, i opened the door and let out a weired warcry,
i was just about to let out some kind of spontanious jump-punch combo, only to see my parents literally rolling around the floor laughing....

I guess I shouldnt of told them of my fear of aliens lol,but it brought back that exact feeling that the movie creates - i.e. pure fear..

signed
- another also scared for life :D

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[–] rickamortis 16 years ago

Damn your parents *beep* up (and funny).

This, Fire in the Sky, Unsolved Mysteries, and those old Time-Life commercials for their "Mysteries of the Unknown" books made me terrified of Aliens for life.

"IMDB... where 14 year old's can pretend to be jaded 40 year old movie critics"

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[–] matmcv 10 years ago

I'm glad to see I'm very much not the only one who was scared witless by this scene. This scene means I can't re-watch this film. Like another poster here I first saw this as an adult not as a kid, but the effect is the same. I was probably about 23. The strange thing is I watched it with a housemate who had already seen it before, and he couldn't see what was so scary about that scene or the film in general.

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[–] AutumnTrust 17 years ago

Geez! We should start a club or something. Jackets and everything!

I am also one who was deathly afraid of aliens as a kid (Even a little still, today). That scene in Communion with the head peeking out... Didn't help my condition at all.

So they say it's Xenophobia? That's interesting.

ITS THOSE BIG BLACK EYES..

THOSE EYES...

ARE NOT MADE FOR CRYIN'.

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[–] blcmitchell 10 years ago

If the clubs been started yet, let me know if you're still taking members 

Saw it on VHS in 1990 (probably). I've only seen it once and that's all it took!

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[–] TRhett 8 years ago

So they say it's Xenophobia? That's interesting.

Aliens in movies always are always "metaphors" for something . . . communists, God, mental illness, illegal immigrants (taking my job!), etc. . . . that's why they're so universally scary. They tap into SOMETHING in everyone's psyche . . .
For an example of someone who presented the concept in a non-frightening, internalized way, see "Contact" by Carl Sagan.

"Pull your pants up, earthling! We've learned all we can through anal probing!" . . .
-Kang the alien to Homer Simpson after Homer turns around, pulls down his pants and says, "Well, might as well get it over with."

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] crc32 (2584) 7 years ago

Yea thats like the one scene we all remember. I think it had a music stinger that made every one jump. Gonna rewatch it to see if thats what happened.

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[–] thejer88 20 years ago

Yes, my friend used to try and scare me by telling me aliens were real and he was abducted before and they're coming after me and all that stuff when I was little. When I saw this movie as a kid, it scared the heck out of me. Like others I can't get the picture of the aliens out of my mind. Scarred for life.

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[–] nathankuhl 20 years ago

Man, I can't believe how many others were scarred by that scene. I also saw it when I was about 9 and it scared the bejeezus out of me! It took me untill I was about 12 before I could actually watch the scene all the way through. But I do love the movie. Being scarred bonds you to a movie for life. I only wish more movies could have that kind of effect on me nowadays. I've kinda lost all shock sense when it comes to movies.

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[–] hipkat333 20 years ago

Dude,
I just turned 26 and even to this day I have to turn the lights on once last time and make sure its all clear from those lil alien bastards.

Oh...
The part where it a real quick flash and you see the aliens finger looks like it's super-white hot poking into the middle of Christopher Walkens forhead, paralyzing him and everything goes black.

Between lil aliens, the Poltergiest clown, and Tales from teh Darkside, well, it just rocks my socks.

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[–] nathankuhl 20 years ago

Ooo yeah, that hot poker scene is super-creepy! Forgot about that...

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[–] dogman2455 20 years ago

that scene where he's lying in bed and that little robot thing comes dangling in scared the crap out of me

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[–] droppedasachild 20 years ago

OK, It's now a fact. This movie screws up everyone who views it.I am a huge horror movie fan and I always give this movie as one of the few movies to ever really scare me. May I ask how many of you also have scars from several scenes in "Jacobs Ladder") (Tim Robbins- 1990)

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] mark_huther 20 years ago

Communion is my favorite book and movie, I've read all the books in this series several times and seen the movie probably close to 50 times. To this day I still don't understand the meaning of the flying toy.

As I'm writing this post I'm watching VH1's top ten sacriest movie moments. Of course this movie isn't going to be on their top 10..but its the scariest movie I've ever seen by far.

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[–] fgrzelczyk 20 years ago

Count me as another who was scarred from that scene as a kid. I thought I was the only one!

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] cxseven 20 years ago

This movie looks like an opportunity for a lawsuit. One in which I negotiate a settlement with Mr. Walken that he play the new role of his lifetime: the real Willy Wonka. The more powerful, more disturbing and majestic Wonka. Because children shouldn't be sympathizing with Wonka, they should feel profoundly uneasy about him and fearful of candy factories.

As discussed here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367594/board/nest/22237632

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] happy_bunny_grl 20 years ago

im watching it right now for the first time and its seriously the scariest movie ive seen so far.

EDIT

Yep i'm scarred for life now.

"There's less violence in the world when people are using Hula-Hoops." - Mikey Way

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[–] Dachshund 20 years ago

Heh my friends and I were having a Christopher Walken Movie party the other night. One of my friends rented Communion. We couldnt finish the movie because it was so funny. We were anticipating the probing of Mr Walken, but we just couldnt make it that far. We stopped and watched Pulp Fiction instead.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] greenflickerstick 19 years ago

Hey, the scene in Jacobs Ladder when the car tries to clip Tim Robbins and you see all those scary faces and heads in the car window! I saw that flick when I was 13 and I never got over it! As far as Communion goes, the alien scene was a real shocker to me too! I also got freaked out when they show the one peering in through the keyhole....gosh...did anyone else get a chill just now?

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Dudeman89 19 years ago

i found that part horrifiying,it wasnt ever concluded what he actually saw but i would think that one of the creatures was snooping around outside his room or maybe window and he mistook it for the spider they found afterwords.but honestly everytime i walk into a dark room, i make that same face and do exactly he did except haha without the screaming

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[–] joshrico3 19 years ago

Debate Time!

The reason you lot have the memory of the grey peeking round the door burned into the furnace of your minds is because these beings are real......... Know they really are real.

They are here.
lol...

Anybody got any questions on the subject I'd be more than happy to answer. On a serious note that is!

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[–] suffocator 19 years ago

The best scene in the movie was the one where whitley is getting probed... there's something about naked christopher walken that is very ..... pleasing

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[–] rickamortis 16 years ago

Jacob's Ladder was one of the most terrifying films I've ever seen.

However it's a movie I like to go back to just to dig around the whole meaning of it. It can be interpreted in so many different ways. I always put this movie along with Jacob's Ladder and Fire in the Sky in the same file in my brain.

The deleted scenes in JL are actually more terrifying than almost anything that made it into the film

"IMDB... where 14 year old's can pretend to be jaded 40 year old movie critics"

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[–] moron2065 19 years ago

Put me down for being freaked-out, too. Scared the bejezzus out of me.

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[–] Tanis__13 19 years ago

I was watching The X-Files with my girlfriend yesterday and actually stopped the show to tell her about THIS SCENE. She had never seen the movie and I, like most of you, saw it when I was young. I have never seen it again. I am totally freaked out by this scene and can't fathom viewing it again, and I'm 27!

Trust me with your life, not your money or your wife.

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[–] gatemouthrb 19 years ago

Another one here who pissed my pants when the grey peered from behind the door when Walken sat up in his bed. What a scene. I mean, it isn't even a real "horror movie", and even so, I was scared to death and was impacted by it for some time. And I thought I was the only wuss :-).

Seems to play off of a basic fear from childhood, something so primal about that. The creek of a door, and, just when you think it's another one of those many movie scenes when the character is just paranoid, or something... bam! You actually DO see an alien come around the corner! That's what scared me about it.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] wingsofsaturn 19 years ago

There's always one utter, utter bastard who does that kind of thing. The same kind of person who says "what are you talking about 'scary'? It was funny" when you've just finished watching Fire In The Sky or Communion and you're trying to piece your shattered consciousness back together. They're just freaks.

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[–] droppedasachild 19 years ago

looks like I hit a nerve... :)

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[–] chrismromer 19 years ago

How strange... To find a discussion about the movie scene which has caused me so much paranoia in my life...

Yeah, forever scarred.

I wonder why, though. Why are so many of us affected by a mundane movie scene?

We all seem to be around the same age... 24-28.

Hrmmmm...

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[–] dfeatthedarkness-1 19 years ago

I bought the region one special edition - and this scene is not in there!!!!

Only when he sits in his rocking chair did i see a peeking alien! he went down stairs several times and i never saw a peeking alien as the camera panned!

Is this only in certain versions??? Thanks

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] mantetvh1 19 years ago

That scene was incorrectly reported, dfeatthedarkness-1 -Strieber IS in fact sitting in a chair, not a bed, when that *beep* peaks his bigass head around the corner and permantley scares the *beep* out of America. Also, he did NOT see any aliens when he went downstairs. I love the fact that all you people were scared at that scene. I have watched so many horror movies, and none of them really scared me...some startled me, some scared me for the night...but this one scene has stuck with me...maybe because these things could be real, maybe because its not often movies reveal the things that go bump in the night...I don't know...but I haven't seen that movie in ten years, but I could draw you a picture of that scene...that says something.

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[–] panawana 19 years ago

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8862/11467878763038oq.jpg

Still creeps me out.

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[–] starman198121 19 years ago

thanx A$$hole that pic brought back alot of memories lol, im 25 years old and i was about 15 when i first saw it, i have the novel and i have to put tape over the cover to block out the eyes, that one scene man just scared the crap out of me, worst part is the bedroom at the apartment i used to live in at the time had a faulty closet door, and if you didnt shut it hard enough the damn thing would creep open slighty to a creaking stop. try that when the rooms dark and right after watching 'communion'

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[–] Stalmer 19 years ago

Count me in... I'm 24, I guess I was 8-9 as well... honestly this scene and this movie changed my life. Good to know there are others out there like me.

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[–] Janelane46 19 years ago

wow, I completely forgot how scared the book made me until I stumbled on to the movie's imdb site. I stole the book from my mother's shelf and didn't sleep for literally months...I'm 24 too...and I have to say, after I found out that a movie was made of that book...i realized i never wanted to see it.....ugh.....the finger in the middle of the forhead......

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[–] dfeatthedarkness-1 19 years ago

I'm still wondering what u mean by - He walks down the stairs and an alien head appears and hides.

This isn't on my DVD - the region 1 collector edition.

Is this scene cut from that edition???

Thanks

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[–] lulabell-1 19 years ago

Oh my god!,I can't believe so many other people were just as freaked out as me!.I saw this film about 10 years ago and the scenes where the 'gray'peers out from behind the door and curtain completely shatter me. Walken is fantastic as streiber, I wish they would show it in the uk i don't think I have ever seem it on since I first watched it.

Lulabell

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[–] droppedasachild 19 years ago

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8862/11467878763038oq.jpg

Great now I've ruined my thirties.
Maybe the reason it's not on your dvd is because it was screwing up to many childhoods and the director got tired of the complaints.:)

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] venomous_poison 19 years ago

I think this post should be named "avoided for one scene"! I always had an immense fear of aliens, until i was about 14. I would watch Freddie Kreuger, Chuckie, Children of the Corn, IT... every possible scary movie going, and not bat an eyelid while my mates were freaking out. But just that one glimpse of the alien behind the door seriously traumatised me, lol i could see it every time i put the light out. I'm 18 now and i dont believe for a second that we have encountered aliens (although i do think there is life out there), but after seeing that picture again i'm sleeping with the light on tonight!

He will return...
30.6.2003

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[–] CharlesVariations 19 years ago

It's also pretty horrific when it shows the light shine down into the kids badroom and u see shadows behind the light, then see alien hands come in after him. But yes that scene with the generic alien head poking through the door was the most unsettling thing ive ever seen. It actually makes u think this flick is going to be some really, really scary movie after that, then it goes completely downhill. If the whole movie was like that, then it would have been great. But HEY, i guess thats what Whitley claimed to have happened, he sorta made friends with some aliens, slapped fives with them, and what not. Even after they gave him a rectal probe.

See you in the funny papers.

~Chuck T. Butcher

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[–] warren-1976 19 years ago

It's great(In a weird way!) to see so many people were affected in the same way by that scene! I recently got the region 1 special edition to replace my old vid copy. It's so much better to see it properly! It scared the hell outa me when I was younger (Can't remember how old, but must've been between 11-13)

As someone said before, the description of that scene is slightly incorrect... it cuts back to him being in the bedroom, sitting in a chair AFTER he's been on the landing, and looked down into the living room. The one time you see an alien in the living room is later, when he has the shotgun, and it's a little blue *beep* moving the flower vase. Having the special edition, I'm looking forward to the director's commentary. It'll be interesting to hear his insights...

I think what I liked about this film, is that while it had some very VERY creepy moments that stick with you more than any horror film(And I've seen a lot of horror films. I love 'em, but am very very rarely creeped out by any of them) it's not about that. It's about Strieber's perception of events, and how he deals with his memories. I think it succeeds brilliantly as a very human emotional film. You aren't supposed to believe what you see is exactly what happened, what you are seeing is his skewed messed up memories of what happened. Part reality (if you believe it) and part emotional psychosis.

On a side note, unrelated to the creepy alien side of things, I also love this film because it always felt like one of those rare movies that portrayed a very real family. They didn't feel at all like a film family, it just felt totally natural for once, which is quite an achievement on film.

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[–] nathankuhl 19 years ago

Man we should start a sort of "Communion Alien-Head-Scene" Support Group or something. It seems that are enough of us out there!

But seriously, this is a great movie in many regards. Chris's performance, the scene, and the O.G. (non-C.G.) effects that I feel give the film an authentic feel. I also agree with wdlee about the family element. Actually, Walken and Krause remind me a lot of my folks. I like the fact that they argue but in a way that isn't detremental to thier overall relationship. I think wdlee nailed it, it was very natural. It was simply great casting too. The chemistry between Walken and Krause (at least to me) is classic.

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