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Have you ever wondered about the origins of the Alien Abduction sub-genre in cinema? Episode 116 of HORROR MOVIE PODCAST was Part 1 in a crossover with your loyal hosts here at The Sci-Fi Podcast. On that ep, the HMP hosts and special guest Mattroid, from TSFP, spent some time exploring the theme and reviewed the films Alien Abduction (2014) as well as Altered (2006). We capped off Part 1 with an excellent interview with filmmaker Eduardo Sanchez.
Part 2 of that series is now here! In this episode, HMP co-hosts Dr. Shock (known as Dave Bowman on TSFP) and Wolfman Josh (known as SpaceWolf on TSFP) join the crew of The Sci-Fi Podcast to review the creepy Communion (1989) and Fire in the Sky (1993).
Mattroid, now joined by the other TSFP co-hosts, continue the epic discussion of Alien Abduction, remembering classic movies in the genre, exploring the trope that is Alien Abduction, and utilizing our resident scientist–The Brain–as a sounding board for our hypotheses regarding the probability and plausibility of life OUT THERE and that life coming here. You also will not want to miss Station!’s hilarious review of Communion or the great discussion about Fire in the Sky.
To Probe, or Not To Probe? Let us know in the comments section.
Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production by Mattroid. Artwork by SpaceWolf.
Let’s take a peek at these ratings! I see you!
RATINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
COMMUNION (1989)
Mattroid: 9/10
Station! ZERO. Yes, really.
Solo: 8/10
Brain: 9/10
SpaceWolf: 8/10
Dave Bowman: 8/10
FIRE IN THE SKY (1993)
Mattroid: Perfect 10
Station! Likes it!
Solo: 9/10
Brain: 7/10
SpaceWolf: 9/10
Dave Bowman: 9/10
LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
I KNOW WHAT I SAW
Travis Walton tells of his alien abduction experience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_UoZ-n0xfc
Travis Walton’s First Interview Ever – After His Abduction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9URS29PjjQ
The Best of Christopher Walken in Communion (1989):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-weSfjr-iE
Dr. Steven Greer: A retired emergency physician. The Disclosure Project is a research project working to fully disclose the facts about UFOs, extraterrestrial intelligence, and classified advanced energy and propulsion systems. We have over 500 government, military, and intelligence community witnesses testifying to their direct, personal, first-hand experience with UFOs, ETs, ET technology, and the cover-up that keeps this information secret.
Dr. Steven Greer: The FAKE ‘Alien’ Attack is Real & Coming Soon!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F33rUJGrshU
FULL VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w0Odg3k7xM
Channeling Erik: Interviews With My Son in the Afterlife
After my son, Erik Medhus took his own life, he began to visit friends, family and the readers of my blog, http//:www.channelingerik.com. Eventually, he began to share what he had learned from the Other Side. This channel will include either videos or audio only recordings of his insight and wisdom. All of them explore the true nature of death, the afterlife, reality, the soul and the human experience — as told by Erik himself, translated by world-renowned medium, Jamie Butler (withloveandlight.com). The interviews found in this channel are the first of its kind to finally provide answers, directly from Heaven. Please go to his Facebook page at http:\\www.facebook.com/ChannelingErik and join his blog at www.channelingerik.com.
Channeling Erik: Interview with Small Gray Aliens, Part One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAbUxg0tuR4
Channeling Erik: Interview with Tall White Aliens, Part One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W90zrEa80XQ
Station’s review of Communion is EPIC. Brava! “Congratulations, Panda. There is now a level zero.”
I’m very intrigued by the consensus good vibes about Fire in the Sky, which I’ve never seen. I probably already agree too much with Brain’s criticism of the movie’s factual fudges to give it an entirely unbiased viewing, but I’ll put it on my hit list. Also, shouldn’t there be about 50 more links in the show notes to things referenced on this episode? Maybe I’m confusing this one with the Alien: Covenant show over at MPW, but I could have sworn I heard someone say, “We can link that in the show notes,” about 10 or 15 different times.
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My apologies, Cody (and everyone). I thought I’d added the others but obviously failed to do so; there are now several more links available in the show notes. Thanks though.
Also, I thought Station! had the best review of Communion by far. Ha ha ha.
Fire in the Sky is a favorite of mine. I just watched Communion yesterday and although I like it and I had lots of fun with it, I think I’d give it a 4/10. That anal probe scene is hilarious! Maybe aliens just really want to eradicate colon cancer before taking over the earth.
Way to bring the science knowledge, Brain! It’s always interesting to hear your perspective.
Thanks!
Great episode, guys. Station!’s review of Communion was hilarious. I was just on a podcast discussing this movie and I thought my co-hosts 3/10s were giving it a hard time!
I only watched this movie for the first time two days ago, but I have to say, it’s likely my favourite sci-fi movie I’ll see all year. I don’t watch a lot of sci-fi, so I really only have Galaxy of Terror, Life and Alien: Covenant to compare it to right now, but it blew me away. It’s kind of an unfair victor though, because the movie works for because the alien elements in the film are only there to represent Whitley’s descent into madness. The alien scenes are effective (the grey dude peeking out from behind the corner), but what really stayed with me was Whitley’s reaction — Mattroid mentioned it: “I see you.” I can even excuse the goofier Labyrinth-esque creature designs because I don’t think they’re meant to be scary. They’re something that Whitley could have conjured up and they’re completely uncanny in that way. The only places the movie falters for me is when it uses the kid and the wife to suggest the abduction did happen, and the ending with the floating head and the roof. To me, the movie is about a family man coming to terms with himself in the wake of a life changing experience (whether that’s an abduction or simply an mental fit), and when the ambiguity is sacrificed, I feel like the plot is lost. You guys said the last 10 minutes are a bit wandering, and I think if the film had ended with Whitley sitting down to begin writing “Communion”, it would have been so powerful. Like he said, he “doesn’t want to be crazy”, and this is him channeling whatever the alien experience was in a way that makes sense for his character.
As a character study, this movie is immensely endearing to me. I couldn’t help but thinking of The Shining while watching this. It was my first time seeing Walken in a leading role, but by the time they were at the cabin, I had completely forgotten that this is a guy so often impersonated. His idiosyncratic tendencies, his facial ticks, his improvised dialogue and peculiar inflection all rang as incredibly genuine to me. I loved it, and not because I was laughing at the guy. I totally bought him as an off-beat writer type, and so when he was struggling with what was happening to him and saying things like “I can see you” and high fiving little blue aliens, I was so unsettled, because the lines were blurred yet still distinct. He was definitely a strange guy from the beginning, but when he began to act stranger as a result of the abduction night, it seemed like a guy trying to hold onto who he is while struggling to understand what’s happening around him.
Because that worked for me, I could honestly go as far to say that Walken’s performance was more effective than Jack Nicholson’s in The Shining. Of course, it’s all subjective; both the real life Whitley and Stephen King think their respective adapted leads are played as “too crazy”, but personally, I’d only have to agree with King — and that’s if I’m thinking of The Shining as a singular character study, which I don’t because there’s so much else going on. If Communion were promoted as some sort of adaptation of The Shining, I have a feeling King would think it’s more faithful to his book than Kubrick’s version was, ha ha.
Anyways, Communion is a 8.5/10 for me. I’m looking forward to following you guys more attentively through the year and dipping into some more sci-fi films. And more Walken films. I could use that too.
Graham,
That’s some beautiful analysis and insight; bravo! My wife, poor sweet Station!, is just wrong about Communion…ha ha ha. She’s not wrong often, but here? Certainly, you showed why! As someone who also only watched it recently, I was wondering if Station! was onto something, but both you and Doc Shock showed that one can watch this movie outside the bubble of teenage anti-pragmatism and still find it enjoyable.
I love the idea of closing out the movie with Whitley sitting to write his story; man, that could have been fantastic. Powerful, like you said. It would have pulled tightly the last few minutes, which otherwise feel mired in uncertainty. A missed opportunity.
And the Jack/Shining comparisons are spot on, too. I’d never drawn the parallels between these movies, that I can recall, but there is a lot to work with when doing so. If the breaking down of mental stability is what both stories are suggesting, then truly they are “twinners”, which Sai King could, of course, expand upon with little to no difficulty, I’m sure. But if Whitley’s story is actually about his abduction experiences, then it’s all the more tragic, or would be had his family not been given a heads up to what’s really going on.
Regardless, I appreciate your feedback and thank you for listening. Please continue to listen, and to stop by and drop bits of critique and wisdom as you did here.