Was this supposed to be set in the present 1976?

I was very confused by this myself. But what I found to be the oddest was that in the police station, early on in the movie, there is a calendar on the wall (or on a cabinet) in a detective's office and it's dated 1961!!! I thought maybe it was of some significance, like to show how disorganised, careless and unthoughtful the police/detectives were, but I'm thinking this film wasn't that "deep". I kept my eye out for any other calendars/dates throughout the film but never saw any.

Also, there is a framed print of JFK behind the front desk where the uniformed officers are. In the beginning the mother's hairstyle could have been a late 50's to early 60's style, but then in the scene where her and her ex start kissing, her hair is definitely early to mid-70's. The clothes were pretty much all 70's, I'd date most of them at about 1974 (I took many fashion courses and have studied vintage and antique fashion and furnishings most of my life).

I might be wrong, but I think some of the pedestrian cars were 70's cars whereas the police cars were 60's but that could be because the police cars were just outdated at the time. The mother and the aunt both had on 50's/60's style makeup at some points as well, especially during the beginning. Not many women wore liquid liner in the 70's, in real life, that's for sure. The wall mural in the dining room in their flat was definitely a 70's thing, maybe very late 60's but most likely early to mid-70's, and the striped floral wallpaper in the kitchen was early 70's for sure. I could go on and on, but I'll stop with these observations. I was trying to date everything during the entire movie, and kept coming up with different decades. I apologise for not structuring these thoughts better, but I'm in a lot of pain so please forgive.

I always got the impression it was set in the 60s also for some reason.

"Hey, look at that! She's not crazy, she's being chased by a cheetah!"

Watched it again after reading this thread.
A lot of things point out that it was supposed to be early 60s.

The calendar in the police station is on 1961, and you can clearly see a poster for Psycho at the 1:26:36 mark.

It was set in 1961. Besides some other visual clues (JFK's picture, magazine and comic book covers, cars, etc.) there's also a 1961 calendar hanging on the wall of someone's office. The director based the movie on memories of his childhood, which was very similar... other than all the murders, of course.

Actually, most of the cars are from the late 1950s. When they bring Alice in for her polygraph they're driving a 1960 Dodge and they stop next to a 1959 Ford. Some of the men's hairstyles, particularly on the younger detectives, seem a little bit long for 1961, but not excessively so.

It was supposed to take place during the early 60's, but director Albert Sole had a very small budget. I only live a few minutes away from where it was filmed in Paterson, NJ and not much has changed in appearance since 1976. It is still one of the scariest towns to walk alone in. Being in law enforcement (now retired), I had to make appearances in the Paterson Courthouse for testimony. I still consider COMMUNION the best American-made giallo film of all time. Too bad Alfred Sole only directed four films (This was his second; his first film was the X-Rated necrophilia comedy DEEP SLEEP, which has only turned up in edited form, as the full cut may be lost). I still see his name on TV series doing various things behind the camera. Everything but direct. Ever since MGM messed with his kitchen-sink comedy PANDEMONIUM (1982), he quit directing. Still, all four of Sole's films are worth seeing. He had a unique vision. TANYA'S ISLAND (Sole's third film) has to be seen to be believed. As far as I know , he is still alive, so never say never. I would like to see him come back to Paterson and do a sequel to this film.

So many posters too busy to read the thread; yes, we got it. 1961