Sometimes They Come Back (1991)

 Sometimes They Come Back (1991)

Stephen King's stories often found themselves being turned into made for television films and miniseries, some of those like 'Salem's Lot, It, Storm Of The Century, and Rose Red have become some of King's beloved film adaptations.  Sometimes They Come Back, an early Stephen King short story from 1974, later printed in his 1978 short story collection Night Shift, was originally optioned to be part of the horror anthology film Cat's Eye, but wasn't ended up being used.  Then in 1991 Dino De Laurentiis produced a made for television film, that was aired on CBS.   Sometimes They Come Back, tells the story of Jim Norman, who witnesses the murder of his brother when he was a kid, and the murderers died in front him when a train hit their car, and his family left town.   Later as an adult, he gets a job at the school in his childhood small town, as a last resort after an incident at the school he was teaching at in Chicago.   But the past has a habit of coming back, as his students start dying and are replaced by the kids who killed his brother who are coming back from the dead.   

Sometimes They Come Back was directed by Tom McLoughlin, with a screenplay by Lawrence Konner, and Mark Rosenthal, based on Stephen King's 1974 short story of the same name.  The film was produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Michael S. Murphey, and aired on CBS, and Vidmark Entertainment handled the home video distribution.  The film received mixed to mediocre reviews, with some critics praising the acting.   The story was originally set in Connecticut, but the film was shot in Kansas City, Kansas and Liberty Missouri, and the actual location of the films setting is never actually stated. 

Sometimes They Come Back stars Tim Matheson as Jim Norman (Zachary Ball played young Jim), Brooke Adams played his wife Sally Norman, Robert Hy Gorman plays their song Scott Norman, and Chris Demetral plays Jim's brother Wayne Norman.  Robert Rusler plays Richard Norman, Nicholas Sadler plays Vinnie Vincent, Bentley Mitchum plays David North, and William Sanderson plays Carl Mueller; who are the boys that murdered Jim's brother. Jim's students who play a part in the story are Chadd Nyerges as Chip who is a jock, Tasia Valenza as Kate, Matt Nolan plays Billy Sterns, and then William Kuhlke as Principal Simmons.   Brooke Adams has been in several Stephen King films including The Dead Zone, and she is always great in her films, and she is great in the role of Sally Norman.   Robert Rusler is great as Richard Lawson, though he seems to be type cast in these kinds of roles, because it feels like seeing him as Hook the leader of the Daggers in the 1986, but he is really good as that character type.  Then Bentley Mitchum, grandson of legendary actor and poet Robert Mitchum, is great as one of the greasers who murders Jim's brother.   Then of course the leading man of the film Tim Matheson who is probably best known for his role in Animal House, was convincing as Jim Norman, you could feel his psychological breakdown as the events begin to unfold, his character is sympathetic and played rather competently.   None of the acting roles are award worthy or anything, but the film's cast is pretty great in their roles. 

Sometimes They Come Back is an effective made for television supernatural horror film, the pacing is well done, though it definitely feels like at times there was definitely things added to make the story longer, considering that the source story was a short story, but overall I feel like they did a really good job at it.  Sometimes They Come Back definitely should be ranked among the great television adaptations of Stephen King's works.   The effects are quite well done, and the horror elements are effective, backed with a great cast, and great writing, Sometimes They Come Back is a pretty great made film adaptation of Stephen King's short story.   There were however two sequels made after the success of the original, and both were direct to video releases, the first one was Sometimes They Come Back...Again from 1996, and the other was Sometimes They Come Back...For More from 1998.   Sometimes They Come Back...Again is from what I can remember more of a remake than a sequel, and I can't do a review of it, because the DVD copy is quite rare, and sells for around $100 or so, and I just can't justify paying that, but if anyone has a copy that they want to donate to me I will gladly accept it.  If you haven't yet seen Sometimes They Come Back, I actually highly recommend it, it is really a rather well done film, and a classic Stephen King television film adaptation, definitely worth watching.