‎Sometimes They Come Back (1991) directed by Tom McLoughlin • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Sometimes They Come Back

1991 Directed by Tom McLoughlin

Based on a short story by Stephen King, a man and his family return to his home town, but he is then harassed by teenagers that died when he was a kid.

Tim Matheson Brooke Adams Robert Rusler Chris Demetral Robert Hy Gorman William Sanderson Nicholas Sadler

97 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Greg ★★★½

This was...suspiciously WAYYYYYY better than I expected it to be...must be Tom McLoughlin......
Review by Parker ★★ 5

Have you tried to describe a color to a blind person?

"Sometimes They Come Back" is what the outcome would be if you tried to describe Stephen King's work to a person who was somehow Stephen King-blind.
Review by Larry ★★★½ 2

Everything burns.

Now, this one is difficult to review. Often when reminiscing about films from your childhood, you are more inclined to give those mediocre films a special pass because of nostalgia goggles blocking the harsh truths from your eyes.

Sometimes They Come Back is not a very good film. Most other films from your childhood were just simply that; an old film you used to like. But I had a special relationship with Sometimes They Come Back that I didn't really share with other films.

I live about 5-10 minutes away from where it was filmed.

But hey lots of people live where films were made, so that wasn't all. My dad and my older brothers loved this movie.…
Review by Cropsy ★★★

Cropsy’s Shocktober Horror Challenge 2016!

Cropsy’s 2016 ABC Horror Challenge!

Week 19. S is for Sometimes They Come Back.

Otter, from Animal House, decides to go back to his hometown to become a teacher. Some fucked up shit happened there when he was a child. Robert Rusler and his greaser buds killed his older brother, and were obliterated by a train immediately after. Fast forward to present day, and everything seems to be going alright. Sure the new students are giving him a hard time, but that's par for the course. What isn't, however, is the fact that Robert Rusler and friends are back from the grave and wreaking havoc on the town! Da fuck?

This was a decent Stephen…
Review by Tori ★★½ 2

This was just sort of meh to me? It wasn't bad but nothing about it really stood out to me either. Aside from the reminder that anything that's focused on events making the main character seem like they're the culprit or mentally unwell or anything like that stress me out and not really in a good way? It just bugs me probably because for my anxious ass that would be a literal nightmare. But that was probably the spookiest thing about it.

tw/cw: child death
suicide (looking like it at least, by hanging)
Review by K.O. Svines ★★★★

I've always been a nostalgic guy and there's no doubt that nostalgia is clouding my judgement on this.

I watched this on video a few years after it came out and there was just something about it. It still has its creepy moments even though it has lost its effect in the 20 years since I first saw it.

The biggest strength is the performance of Robert Rusler. Man, he was born for this role. And the early 90s made-for-TV production values fits the story perfectly.

Recent reviews

Review by Tori ★★½ 2

This was just sort of meh to me? It wasn't bad but nothing about it really stood out to me either. Aside from the reminder that anything that's focused on events making the main character seem like they're the culprit or mentally unwell or anything like that stress me out and not really in a good way? It just bugs me probably because for my anxious ass that would be a literal nightmare. But that was probably the spookiest thing about it.

tw/cw: child death
suicide (looking like it at least, by hanging)
Review by JoshUnderwood ★★★½

Cool car, cool villains, cool premise. Rewatched it for the first time in many years, Holds up well.

Could be a good fall time view.
Review by Greg ★★★½

This was...suspiciously WAYYYYYY better than I expected it to be...must be Tom McLoughlin......
Review by Matt ❌ ★★½

"Whooo, nice shooting Jimbo. But you can't kill what's already dead."

I remember this fondly but it has not held up well. A man and his family move back to his childhood home where he's pledged by a group of ghost kids that killed his brother. I swear the dialogue during the entire second act is just one of the greasers "Woooing" over and over again. The cheese level is at a all time high as this teacher battles the demons from his past.
Review by DuncanVB ★★½

He's right they do
Review by Carlos Ibarra ★★★½

Still as effective as when I first saw it. Pretty good horror movie, especially for a made for TV one from the 90s. Not high on the body count, blood or gore, but it's got some great atmosphere and that nostalgic quality you see in a lot of Stephen King's works.
Review by Jerome1994 ★½

This one was pretty bad, the villain was pretty lame. Plus it honestly did not feel like a horror movie, the acting and writing were pretty bad with some laughable moments. This was a first time watch, I did not watch this movie growing up and I can definitely see why. It was never talked about which again I see why, the movie is extremely forgettable and just terrible.

I kind of like the title though!

Also this is from the guy who did Friday the 13th Part 6 (one of my favorites) so I expected a bit better...

3.3/10 D-
Review by Doğukan Büyükkorkmaz ★★★½

7/10
Review by Noturgrandmaw ★★★½

I had this one on my watchlist for awhile. Of course, once the movie started playing, it all came flooding back to me. Yea, I had already seen it. Can't believe I forgot about it. Great story by the modern day master of horror, Stephen King. It's amazing how these made for tv movies can be soo bad yet are saved for the simple reason that the storyline is fantastic. The acting and basic cinematography is probably better than say, "It", but none of that matters anyhow. This is a good movie. I love you, Stephen King!