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IMDbPro

Sometimes They Come Back

  • TV Movie
  • 19911991
  • RR
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,681
1,853
Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
DramaHorrorThriller
A man and his family return to his hometown, where he is then harassed by teenagers who died when he was a kid.A man and his family return to his hometown, where he is then harassed by teenagers who died when he was a kid.A man and his family return to his hometown, where he is then harassed by teenagers who died when he was a kid.
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,681
1,853
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Tom McLoughlin
    • Writers
      • Stephen King(based on a short story by)
      • Lawrence Konner(screenplay by)
      • Mark Rosenthal(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Tim Matheson
      • Brooke Adams
      • Robert Rusler
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Tom McLoughlin
    • Writers
      • Stephen King(based on a short story by)
      • Lawrence Konner(screenplay by)
      • Mark Rosenthal(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Tim Matheson
      • Brooke Adams
      • Robert Rusler
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 77User reviews
    • 53Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos673

    Tim Matheson in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Brooke Adams and Tim Matheson in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Robert Rusler in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Bentley Mitchum in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Bentley Mitchum in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Tim Matheson in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Matt Nolan in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Brooke Adams and Tim Matheson in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    William Kuhlke in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Nicholas Sadler in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Tim Matheson in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)
    Tasia Valenza in Sometimes They Come Back (1991)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tim Matheson
    Tim Matheson
    • Jim Norman
    Brooke Adams
    Brooke Adams
    • Sally Norman
    Robert Rusler
    Robert Rusler
    • Richard Lawson
    Chris Demetral
    Chris Demetral
    • Wayne Norman
    Robert Hy Gorman
    Robert Hy Gorman
    • Scott Norman
    William Sanderson
    William Sanderson
    • Mueller
    Nicholas Sadler
    Nicholas Sadler
    • Vinnie
    Bentley Mitchum
    Bentley Mitchum
    • North
    Matt Nolan
    Matt Nolan
    • Billy Sterns
    Tasia Valenza
    Tasia Valenza
    • Kate
    Chadd Nyerges
    Chadd Nyerges
    • Chip Conway
    T. Max Graham
    • Chief Pappas
    William Kuhlke
    William Kuhlke
    • Principal Simmons
    Duncan McLeod
    • Old Officer Nell
    Nancy McLoughlin
    Nancy McLoughlin
    • Dr. Bernardi
    Zachary Ball
    • Jimmy Norman
    Dick Solowicz
    • Desk Sergeant
    Rodney McKay
    • Police Officer
    • Director
      • Tom McLoughlin
    • Writers
      • Stephen King(based on a short story by)
      • Lawrence Konner(screenplay by)
      • Mark Rosenthal(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Jim Norman says "27 years ago they killed Wayne". Pennywise also comes back every 27 years in the novel IT by Stephen King.
    • Goofs
      When Lawson says "get this bum out of my way before I slap him" at the end, his mouth does not match his voice.
    • Quotes

      Vinnie Vincent: You always wanted to be like your brother, didn't you Jimmy?

      Richard Lawson: Dead.

      David North: VERY dead.

    • Connections
      Featured in Minty Comedic Arts: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Sometimes They Come Back (2018)

    User reviews77

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Slightly flawed but highly enjoyable effort
    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. One of the film's biggest positives is the fact that this one really manages to get the fear of being involved in a traumatic incident from the past in a small-town. 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. From the dropped set of car-keys to the shoes and the kids coming one-by-one into the classroom, the set-up from these incidents plays a great part in how this one manages to come off when it starts to reveal what their actual purpose is for returning. 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. With these action-packed scenes that come together into giving this a lot to like alongside the few fine make-up effects on the ghouls who look quite creepy and chilling, there's enough to like here that really manages to hold off the few minor flaws present. 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. The other big issue here does manage to carry on about that with there not being any real reason stated about why they come back to begin with as there's just nothing explained about why they come back to life here at that point in time. By simply showing up saying they want revenge but never explaining how they manage to do so when they clearly never deserved to do so in the first place makes them so simply non-threatening that as a whole the film really stumbles with the main villains. That it also gets a little too schmaltzy with the fantasy-driven finale that looks quite goofy and silly against the more realistic elements, these here do hold it down somewhat.

    Rated R: Language and Violence.
    helpful•8
    1
    • kannibalcorpsegrinder
    • Nov 21, 2016

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 7, 1991 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Geri Döndüler
    • Filming locations
      • Liberty, Missouri, USA
    • Production companies
      • Come Back Productions
      • Dino de Laurentiis Communications
      • Paradise Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo

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