Sometimes They Come Back
Tags: flashback, cult, murder, home movie

Plot synopsis:
Unable to find a teaching position in Chicago, Jim Norman finally finds an open position, but in a place he never thought he'd return: the town where he grew up. Jim and his family move into a house there, but the entire atmosphere of the town fills Jim with dread.Reporting to his class, Jim finds it filled with numerous jocks and airheads, the majority of which demand Jim pass them anyways. Jim makes it clear he will not, and the Jocks start to taunt him, leading Jim to angrily break a ruler.After work, Jim returns to an old place he hasn't been to for 27 years: the house that his family once lived in, but has been shuttered and vacant ever since. This leads to him having a dream that evening, recounting the terrible incident in 1963:Jim was close to his older brother Wayne, and the two headed off to the library to return some books. Climbing a hill, they came across the local railroad tracks, and Wayne decides to take a shortcut through the nearby train tunnel.The two haven't gone more than 20 ft when the roar of a modified Chevrolet Bel Air is heard, and 4 greasers pull up in front of the two boys, demanding that they hand over what money they have. Wayne tries to get the gang to leave them alone, but they pull off his PF Flyer shoes, and throw them over a metal overhang in the tunnel, before Wayne punches the leader. This causes the gang leader to pull out a switchblade, and stab Wayne, who then collapses. The gang is then about to go after Jim, when the roar of a steam whistle is head, and a train can be seen approaching from the other end of the tunnel. The gang attempts to get back in their car and start it up, but they have lost the keys. Jim then tries to get Wayne up, but Wayne is too badly injured, and weakly tells Jim to get help.Jim attempts to run, but doesn't get far when the train impacts the gang's Bel Air, sending it exploding in a huge fireball, and Wayne is run over along the tracks. Jim eventually ran from the scene, ending up crying on the front porch.Jim then wakes from his dream, when his wife finds him on the front porch of their house.Sometime afterward at school, one of the jocks threatens to get Jim for giving him an F, to which Jim tries to keep his composure. Another student explains to Jim that he appreciates the effort he's making, and then bicycles off. However, Jim sees that the student has dropped his wallet, and drives off intending to give it to him.On a twisting road out of town, the student is menaced by a familiar Bel Air Chevrolet, spewing flames from its twin tailpipes, and attempting to clip the bicycle. Jim comes up on the car close behind, and tries to get the cars attention. However, the Bel Air finally clips the students bike, sending him over the side of a steep embankment. Jim reports about the Bel Air, but almost everyone who saw the student on the bicycle besides Jim, claims there was noone following him.Jim goes back to his class the next day, and is shocked when a new transfer student is introduced...one of the gang of four delinquents. Jim is shaken by the now resurrected gang member, and when one of the jocks causes trouble, Jim lashes out just as the Principal passes by. The Principal takes over the class and orders Jim to leave.Sometime after, a fall parade is held in downtown, and Jim has two incidents that cause him to pause: one is seeing the gang member watching him during the parade, the other is his son Scott finding a pair of PF Flyers that look just like Wayne's shoes from 1963.The family goes home where Jim attempts to relax, but as he attempts to, a familiar train whistle can be heart. Jim then goes off in the middle of the night, back to the mouth of the old train tunnel. His head filling with memories over the bad incident, he heads back through town, where he runs into one of the female students. When he asks her if she's been hearing the old train whistle, the student explains that she's lived her entire life in the town, but hasn't heard any such whistles.That evening, Jim attempts to go back to sleep, but has a nightmare involving the gang as well as the female student. His wife explains that she's worried about him not having slept well and suggests that maybe they should move back to Chicago. Jim angrily explains they are not going anywhere, and heads off for the school.In class, Jim notices the female student is not there, and upon seeing the one gang member flash a devilish grin, rushes from the room, reporting to the police that he has an idea where she is.A search party that evening searches the high weeds near a local farm, but finds nothing. Remembering a barn from his dream, Jim steers the search party to it, where he finds the female student hanging from the upper rafters by her neck.A counselor is brought to the teachers, and many claim the female students death to be a suicide, but Jim claims it was murder.Returning to the classroom, Jim is shocked to see that another of the gang members has appeared as a 'transfer student,' and taken over the other student's desk.Later that evening, the jock who threatened to get Jim shows up at his doorstep, scared. He claims he met with the two gang members after school, and they threatened him, claiming they knew Jim from a long time ago. Jim figures the Jock knows the two gang members were responsible for the deaths of the two students, but the Jock runs off Jim's property, only to run head-first into the Bel-Air, where he is soon thrown up on the windshield of the car as it rockets past Jim's house.Jim quickly rushes back into the house, but panics when there's a knock at the door soon after. However, it is the local Sheriff, who soon takes Jim into the station under suspicion that he may know more than he is letting on. It seemed too convenient that he knew where to find his former student when she went missing.Jim is released from the police the next day, but on his way to school, the Sheriff notes that another of the students has gone missing- the jock who visited Jim the night before.Going into the school, some devilish laughter causes Jim to enter the Boys room, to find the gang members, now joined by a third. They claims that their fourth member will be joining them shortly, and threaten to get Jim's son, Scott.On the way home from school, Scott is chased down and scared as the gang's Bel Air roars up over a hill and chases him down a street. Scott is returned home, shaken by the events. Jim gets there and attempts to comfort his son, by giving him his old baseball cap.Jim also explains to his wife about the gang having seemingly come back from the dead, but his wife can't believe it. Even so, Jim tells her to lock the house as he leaves. Seeing a police car patrolling the area, he wonders about an officer he had seen when he was running away from the death scene as a child.Jim eventually finds the officer who has since been put in a home. The officer explains that when he was wounded some time ago, he was legally dead for 3 minutes, and in that time, he saw Jim's brother, Wayne. The officer claims that Wayne is stuck in limbo, unable to go on, and that when that occurs, some spirits come back, unable to finish their business. Jim tells the officer about the gang members he's encountered, and that each of them mentioned they had 'transferred up from Milford,' but he was not able to find any school by that name. The officer then tells Jim why he couldn't find it: Milford isn't a school, it's a cemetery.Jim then heads out to the cemetery, and finds the tombstones of 3 of the 4 members. As he wonders about the 4th member, the 3 others appear, claiming that their 4th member wasn't killed, and they intend to get to him before Jim does.Jim tracks down the 4th member, finding him in a trailer. Jim takes the gang member's gun, and forces him to go to the old train tunnel, but the former gang member runs off.Back at the house, Jim's wife and son are terrified when the three deceased members break into the house. Jim arrives soon after, firing the gun he used on their 4th member, but the bullets do no harm. The three leave the house, once again insisting that Jim meet them at the old train tunnel.Jim takes his family to the nearby church, promising them that they'll be safe there. When his wife asks why the gang members have returned from the dead, a thought crosses Jim's mind, and he knows why they have come back for revenge.Returning to his family home, Jim breaks in and finds an old cigar box under the floorboards, along with the three books his brother never returned to the library that fateful day. He also finds the 12 cents that was to be paid as a late fee.Inside the cigar box, he pulls out a car key with a red-dyed rabbit's foot. The gang have sworn revenge because in his haste, Jim had grabbed the key on the ground and ran, leaving the 3 in the car with no way to drive away before they were hit by the train.Jim is further shocked to find the 4th member of the gang at the door, claiming he's tired of running, and believes Jim, wanting his pain and torment about that day to be over with. As the two head for Jim's van, it bursts into flames as the other 3 gang members stand nearby. They take their 4th member with them, and tell Jim they are going to get his wife and child.The gang manages to lure both Jim's wife and son out of the church, and taken them along with them to the tunnel. Meanwhile, Jim goes to his brother Wayne's grave, pleading and begging for Wayne to return to help him. As he watches, a white tunnel materializes, and for a few moments, Wayne almost appears, but is then drawn back.With noone else to turn to, Jim heads back to the train tunnel, long since abandoned and the train tracks gone except for the wooden pylons in the ground. Jim recites by heart the conversation he had with his brother that day, and the gang's Bel Air roars up behind him, blocking the way. The gang gets out and attempts to bully Jim, also showing that they have his family in their car. The 4th gang member tries to stop them, but the leader stabs him with his switchblade. As he dies, the 4th member tells Jim that when he dies, someone else can cross over. As they watch, a bright light appears, and the white tunnel reappears, with Wayne stepping out. Wayne and Jim attempt to fight the 3 gang members, when a train whistle is heard, and the train engine is seen at the far end of the tunnel...glowing a hellish red!Jim throws away the rabbits foot with the keys, causing the two gang members to run after it. Wayne tries to take down the gang leader as Jim gets his wife and son out of the car. The gang leader tells Jim they'll get him again, but Jim explains that it's all over, and the gang is going to hell. The three find the keys and attempt to drive off, but are once again destroyed when the train plows into their car. The fireball envelopes them, and the car, the gang and the train disappear.In the aftermath, Wayne sees Scott with Jim's cap, and thinks that Scott is Jim. Jim explains to Wayne's spirit that he is his brother, and that 27 years have passed. The light tunnel reappears, and Wayne pleads with Jim that he doesn't want to go back, and that he'll be alone. He tries to get Jim to go with him, but Jim tells his brother that he has to stay behind to take care of his son. Jim's wife also pleads to Wayne that they do need Jim, as much as Jim needed Wayne when they were younger. Jim promises Wayne they'll meet again, and now that Wayne's spirit can finally rest, he'll be able to see Mom and Dad again. Wayne crosses over into the light tunnel, which closes up behind him.The family embraces, and they return back through the tunnel entrance, the ghosts of Jim's past now having been put to rest.

Review: 90's character actor tim matheson stars in a surprisingly scary adaptation of a stephen king short story about a guy returning to the town he lived in when he was a child which brought back nightmares of the incident that led to the deaths of his brother and the three hoodlums who tried to mug them.
Doesn't matter if you've been good or if you've been bad and these three were definitely bad.Tim Matheson comes back to his hometown with wife Brooke Adams and their son Robert Hy Gorman for a teaching job at the local high school.
All transfered from Milford, Milford Cemetery that is.Tim Matheson and the rest of the cast give good performances in this film adapted from a Stephen King short story.
"Sometimes They Come Back" by Tom McLoughlin("Friday the 13th Part 6-Jason Lives","One Dark Night")is an adaptation of the short story written by Stephen King.The plot is simple:a school teacher(Tim Matheson)is chased by the dead punks who killed his brother when he was a kid.The film is well-made and has some creepy moments.The direction is solid,the acting is pretty good,unfortunately I found climax to be the weakest part of the film.Still if you like horror movies give this one a look.Followed by two sequels!.
Returning to his home-town, a teacher and his family find that the traumatic incident involving his big brother while he was growing up has caused the greaser-gang also included in the event to come back and torment them forcing a final showdown to right the wrong.This one here wasn't all that bad even though it does have some issues.
The fact that the initial accident itself feels like the kind of accident that really could happen in such a location, with the greaser gang tormenting them and then getting caught up in the train coming through the tunnel does come off like a rather enjoyable setup for later, and with the way this holds up the different incidents later on that trigger the incidents later on.
Those are quite fun as the different variations of them appearing as students in his classroom while taunting him in the town, the ways in which they manage to fool everyone in class as well as the town who constantly think he's having mental breakdowns based on his past history which comes into play quite nicely and overall manages to give this one a great build-up for the story to play out in the later half.
With the group out and tormenting him and his family with some rather impressive stalking scenes of the family at the house and the later scene in the church where they get taken away leading into the final confrontation in the tunnel once again as this makes for a rather thrilling and engaging finish that plays out the fateful accident that came through in the rest of the film.
The film's biggest issue is the fact that we're not given a reason to care about why the greaser club is seeking revenge, as the film makes the point of them coming back for him killing them only they deserved their fate so it's really troubling to get into the story.
The gang is a total joke that simply act like tough-guy greasers but are just so over-the-top in their silly threats that it makes for a pretty hard time to find fear in them for the whole film as they're return doesn't make any sense.
Tom McLoughlin, director of the most overrated film in the "Friday the 13th" franchise, directed this made for TV adaptation of the Stephen King short story.Tim Matheson stars as the man tortured by memories of his brother's death and the men responsible.
The film is strong on mood, successfully bringing to life that sense of time, place and small town atmosphere that King's stories thrive on.
I really like this story, I haven't read it so I don't know if the movie differs a lot from Kings original story, but that doesn't matter, because this is a movie!The story is cool, like I said, I really like the setting and some of the performances from some of the actors.
A man and his family head back to his hometown for a teaching job, but are still haunted by the childhood death of his older brother caused by a teenage gang who died at the same time in a train accident.
An interesting ghost story about Jim Norman and his older brother Wayne.
Now the the vengeful greaser ghosts are wanting Jim dead - they will stop at nothing.Not a bad film.
I never read King's story so I can't compare one to the other, but this version was fairly easy to follow with creepy moments throughout, although it seems that I've seen the "car greasers" in other King adaptations before this movie as well, like Stand By Me and Christine.
I have seen it at least 100 times, so I finally bought a copy of it.Out of the three 'Sometimes They Come Back' movies the original is by far the best and the most plausible (if you believe in ghosts).
Based on an OK Stephen King story, this movie not only mangles the story beyond almost any point of recognition, it makes the plot dumb and incomprehensible!
Added to terrible acting, awful special effects and a complete lack of credible storyline (which the original at least had), and you can count this being just a smidge better than "Random Hearts", making "Sometimes" the 2nd-worst movie of all time.
STCM is surely an underrated masterpiece written by Stephen King (SK)and excellently directed to become one of the most greatest horror film within SK movies.
It isn't without its moments – Robert Rusler is pretty good as the gang leader and William Sanderson is always fun to watch doing his weird jittery thing – but the whole thing is painfully formulaic without an ounce of horror or even suspense.
One of them perfect late 80's/ early 90's horror films set in small town America, great story, great acting from the main cast, great pacing and tension, effortlessly cool, there aren't really many special effects to speak of, apart from when the bad guys show their demon faces, the bad guys are cool thou, the epitome of a 50's greaser, complete with flick knife and Johnny Cash hair, and their car is cool as anything, a hot rod with flames roaring out the back of it, the ending is a bit rushed and a bit schmaltzy but it made me cry (because I could identify with it) and is another great King adaption, which is saying a lot as most King adaptions are a bit hit and miss, and the endings always seem rushed, just like his books, definitely a must see if you like small town American horror type films..
Especially since this is branded as a horror movie and it being based on a Stephen King novel.Well, let's just say that the years have definitely distorted the memories of what I had of "Sometimes They Come Back".
But today, then the storyline was horrible and so generic to watch that it was almost painful.What carries "Sometimes They Come Back" most of the way was the cast ensemble, which includes Tim Matheson (playing Jim Norman), Brooke Adams (playing Sally Norman), Robert Rusler (playing Richard Lawson) and Nicholas Sadler (playing Vinnie Vincent).
There was absolutely nothing scary in the movie at all, unless you are less than 5 years old and watch the three returned young men in the car turning into the dead.
Nothing scary about 4 guys driving around in a black classic car primed with fire paint and flames shooting out of the exhaust, while they laugh maniacally.Now that I have revisited "Sometimes They Come Back" in 2019, I now know that this is a movie that I will never return to again.
Odd really, considering how much I enjoyed most of the movie adaptations for Stephen King novellas back in the day..
Stop giving Stephen King movies happy Hollywood endings!.
If you haven't watched any of the other adaptations then you'll need to know that almost every other story is set in a small American town where something supernatural takes place.
It has horror cliches and Stephen King cliches, but either way, just cliches.I first watched it back when it was released in 1991 and thought it was okay - although not okay enough to ever bother buying on VHS back then and certainly not worth tracking down a DVD copy.
It's about a family who comes to - yes, you guessed it - a small American town where the father (Jim Norman) is going to teach at the local school.
Sometimes They Come Back has that original horror feel that typically only came from movies a little bit before its time.
I have not personally read this short story yet.However, the fact that this film begins believably but then collapses at the end is proof that King is very hard to adapt.
He returns to teach high school thirty years later and finds the same ghouls who killed his brother are in his class.I think this is is a least watching, it not total waste of time, i have have yet to read the book.This movie dose have really odd scenes that work really well with the pacing of the movie and those are the only two scenes that stand out from the whole and acting is really good for a TV movie.The ending was disappointing for me, it didn't work as they went with emotional ending.This movie more of Drama then a Horror movie,so don't expect anything Creepy,Gory or Scary at all..
The short story this movie is based on is pretty good, and the movie adaption was also worthy of Stephen King.
This movie isn't great, but I think it is worth checking out, especially if you've read Stephen King's short story.
Based on a short story by Stephen King...that was enough to get me to watch.
Sometimes They Come Back is a made-for-TV adaptation of a Stephen King short story that I might have enjoyed a little more if the actors playing the bad guys hadn't laughed, jeered, whooped and hollered quite as much as they do.
One by one enough students are slain so the thugs, disguised as living teens, can return to class.They plan to kill Jim in the same way they murdered Wayne in order to keep themselves out of Hell.
Sometimes They Come Back (1991) *** (out of 4) A school teacher (Tim Matheson) returns to his hometown with his wife (Brooke Adams) and kid years after he witnessed his older brother get killed by a gang of teenagers who also died in an accident at the same time.
SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK is based on the Stephen King short story and I think it translated to the screen very well.
As a general rule of thumb, the book or short story of which a movie is based on is almost always better than the film.
The story begins by introducing Jim Norman (played by Tim Matheson), a high school literature teacher forced to return to his hometown due to financial reasons.
Despite the fact that this is a TV movie, it has the feeling of being one made for the theater with its creepy atmosphere, competent acting, and good story themes.
The original King story was a bit darker in its ending and how Jim deals with the three hoods who've come back and I don't think it had the same emotional feeling that this movie did.
Based on a short story by Stephen King, a man (Tim Matheson) and his family return to his home town, but he is then harassed by teenagers that died when he was a kid.This film has King written all over it: the use of a train, the idea of a problem for kids transferring over to when they are adults...
The only Steven King movie I have seen that I consider better than "Sometimes They Come Back" would be "The Dead Zone" - MERK.
The trademark of a successful thriller is the feeling that the main character is more and more alone & trapped in his fear, even if the family or the world is still present.This movie got it.Yes, the budget isn't those of blockbusters, and, sure, the editing (the cycle chase)and the story (the ghost car is visible or not,...) are sometimes goofy...
The setting in a small country town is well painted and finally, the question is: - Does Stephen King is in a way involved in this good review ?
I like horror, but i must say that the most horror movies are horrible in a negative way.I got negative and positive feelings about Sometimes they come back.
However, the movie does happen to capture some of the things King is Notorious for putting in his stories...things he loves...The 50's, Rock music, fast cars, and very heavy plot points.
The movie version of his story wants too much to be a good, but keeps falling short.
The scenes from this film I mostly enjoyed was Jimmy Normans flashbacks from his childhood memories 27 years before as well as very cool and brutal Nick Sadler (Vinnie 'Vincent' Corey) and Richard Lawson(Robert Rusler) while slaying Jimmys students until they got they're own personal revenge on Jimmy for when they were killed 27 years before.
What I liked about this film was the grimness/ darkness of the movie, which brings a shiver in my skin every time I watch it.
Sometimes They Come Back starts with Jim Norman (Tim Matheson) returning to the town where he grew up after 27 years along with his wife Sally (Brooke Adams) & their young son Scott (Robert Hy Gorman) having had to take a teaching job there at the local high school.
The town holds painful memories for Jim which come flooding back, all those years ago Jim's Brother Wayne (Chris Demetral) was killed in a train tunnel along with three teenage bullies who were trying to steal money off them, Jim was the only survivor.
The script by Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal was based on the short story by Stephen King which I have not read but is apparently quite different especially the ending which would not come as a surprise considering the ending that made it to the final finished film is pretty poor with far too much awful sentimentality which comes off as embarrassing & cringe inducing.
A bit of a shame really as the rest of Sometimes They Come Back is decent & fairly watchable, the first twenty odd minutes plays out like a drama as Jim recalls the events of all those years ago in various flashbacks but then the story becomes more interesting when Lawson turns up out of the blue followed by his ghostly friends soon after.
The acting was OK.Sometimes They Come Back is yet another Stephen King adaptation in a list that is seemingly endless, it's not the best but it's by no means the worst.
The worst of the worst when it comes to Stephen King adaptations.
A very below average adaptation of a Stephen King short story, hindered by being a TV movie.
"Sometimes They Come Back" is one of the most highly regarded short stories by Stephen King and with good reason.
This small screen adaptation actually makes an effort in conveying a few of the themes that King included in his original story.
As the teacher who is tormented and haunted by the kids who bullied him at school and the murder of his brother, Tim Matheson is well cast.
Jim Norman (Tim Matheson, Buried Alive) has moved back home to become a teacher, years after he watched his little brother Wayne get killed by a teen gang.
Wayne asks Jim to join him in heaven, but he decides to stay alive.The book and novel differ greatly, with Jim's wife Sally (Brook Adams, The Dead Zone) being killed by the gang and his brother Wayne being a demon that he calls for revenge.Two sequels followed, Sometimes They Come Back...Again (which Becca recommends more than this film and I've been trying to buy her a copy, but it's near impossible to find on DVD) and Sometimes They Come Back for More.This is a decent film, directed by Tom McLoughlin, who also directed Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.
27 years later, killed teenagers come back from the dead to get revenge on surviving brother.
Tim Matheson stars as Jim Norman, a high school teacher who's having recurring nightmares about a boyhood trauma involving the neighborhood bullies that left most of the gang of hoodlums, as well as his brother dead.
It doesn't help that the aforementioned deceased gang members are coming back one by one putting the lives of him and his loved ones in danger.This is one of the better Made-for-TV films based on Stephen King's short stories.
Matheson does a pretty good job, as do most of the others in the cast (with the only exception being the kid who played Jim as a young boy) and the film managed to keep me interested throughout.
This is the first King Adaption that I actually liked BETTER than the short story.
In the book, it does not seem clear why they come back, other than he returned to the town?Also, in the Original King Version his wife Sally is killed by the ghosts and they do not have any children.
Where as in the movie his Brother Wayne's Spirit actually comes back and helps.
The bad ghosts return to where ever they came from and Jim and his dead brother (Wayne)get closure.
Tim Matheson plays a man with wife and child who returns to his hometown where years ago his brother was killed by a gang of 50's style hoodlums.