Thursday, March 31, 2022

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Communion (1989)

Whitley: Then there's the other thing. The rectal thing.
Dr. Friedman: Well it happens, you know? Even to men.

A happy 79th birthday to the legend Christopher Walken today! I have been having an unexpected Very Walken 2022 so far -- I re-watched Batman Returns a few weeks ago after The Batman left me cold and he is of course a total delight in that as the sinister Max Schreck, department store goon; he can currently be seen on the TV show Severance, which I'm only a couple of episodes into so don't spoil anything but I imagine he'll have more to do down the line; and third, I watched Communion last week for the first time, and... what it the holy fuck is this movie???


There's a brief Twitter thread there above if you click on that -- I live-tweeted the movie because I couldn't believe what I was watching. How did I never know what an insane pile of coked-up trash that movie is? That's another movie a la my recent experience with Boxing Helena that got lost for me due to timing -- I was just a smidge too young when those movies came out to really understand their deals or get the jokes, and then they became movies that were mostly forgot unto time so I never really thought about them again... until I did. Here on thirty years later. And...


... they were both worth it! Both of these movies should be Cult Classics. They should be happening at Midnight screenings all the time, and it's truly a shame that they're not. Get on it, programmers! If I have any programmers around listening these are the ones! Cult chaos, hilarity, the lot. Absolute gold.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Boxing Helena was so ahead of its time.
I mean, before Showgirls and The Human Centipede ther was Boxing Helena.

Also, I'm still waiting for a Netflix Sequel called Unboxing Helena.

Eugene said...

Ha!I have been watching those Prophecy movies with Walken currently streaming I think, on Cinemax. Had never seen any of them but I think the first is the best and I kind of admire it because of what it tries to do. The sequels of course begin to disintegrate. So I was wondering just the other day what ever became of Communion. Strieber's book was a phenomenon at the time, a huge best seller and there was kind of Alien Abduction craze going on. But, and my memory may be hazy on this, it seems like once the film was finally made the whole thing had blown over and the film got bad reviews and tanked at the box office. Strieber continued to write about abductions, I think, until he died. I'd actually like to see the film again as I have only the slightest memory of it and remember being disappointed in it having read the book.

Jason Adams said...

I'm actually really curious about the book now, because I can't imagine this movie was what WS had in mind? Wasn't his book taken somewhat seriously? I just mean that it was successful and some people, who were inclined to, bought it -- kind of like people who believe in the supernatural bought Amityville in the 70s. I am sure alien skeptics were legion re: WS's book and Very Serious People didn't take it seriously. But I can't imagine it being half the clown show that the movie is because if it was I don't think ANYONE would have taken it seriously or made the book a hit.

Shawny said...

I took Communion seriously because I was a kid when I saw it. The anal probe scene, unforgettable. Was it my first time receiving the concept in my head? Many probes down the line since then...I'm not quite sure. :)

Eugene said...

Well a lot of people initially took the book Chariots of the Gods seriously. Another huge bestseller at the time and now pretty much completely debunked and forgotten. These kinds of things like Amityville that you mentioned seemed to come in waves throughout the 70s and 80s. Also Satan worshiping cults hidden in every town. They are probably still very prominent on the internet along with Qanon and cult beliefs etc so there is not much point in a publisher trying to compete with everything that's er...out there and available to everyone. The book Communion seemed very legitimate at the time and was intriguing and well written and seemingly skeptical in this man's search for what was wrong with him. I found the film on Tubi and rewatched it found it entertaining but probably for the wrong reasons..lol. I haven't yet but will do a little research on Strieber because while I know he died, I don't remember what his life was like after Communion.

FoxVerde said...

julian sands/the doctor in boxing helena: "just what i always wanted - a limbless woman who hates me!"