Sometimes They Come Back

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Sometimes They Come Back

R,

1991,

1h 37m,

Horror

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Watchlist

45%

29 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

45%

Tomatometer

29 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

High school teacher Jim Norman (Tim Matheson) reluctantly returns to his hometown with his wife (Brooke Adams) to pursue a job. Jim is haunted by the childhood memory of his brother being murdered by a group of teenagers, who were then struck by a train before they could kill him, too. To Jim's horror, he finds that the teenagers have returned to town as they appeared before they died, and are transferring into his class. When his students start dying off, Jim becomes the prime suspect.

Critics Consensus

Doling out a few eerie moments bolstered by gruesome effects and Tim Matheson's gripping performance, Sometimes They Come Back squanders its chilling premise through drawn-out pacing and uneven tension that ultimately drain its intended dread.

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David Bianculli

Philadelphia Inquirer

Apr 29, 2026

And sometimes they don't make much sense.

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John Carman

San Francisco Chronicle

Apr 29, 2026

Peters out quickly enough, and the only point really is a few hours of ghostly diversion and shock to the viewer's nervous system.

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Eric Mink

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Apr 29, 2026

This is a particularly tasty adaptation.

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Christopher Johnston

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

Jun 9, 2026

It's well acted, has an eerie mood and viewers get few clues as to where it's going.

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Eric Kohanik

Ottawa Citizen

Apr 29, 2026

It is a so-so thriller.

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Walt Belcher

Tampa Tribune

Apr 29, 2026

There's a lot of talk and little action.

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Luke P

Jun 18, 2017

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.

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Tom McLoughlin

Director

Tim Matheson

Jim Norman

Brooke Adams

Sally Norman

William Sanderson

Carl Mueller

Robert Gorman

Scott Norman

Robert Rusler

Richard Lawson

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Synopsis

High school teacher Jim Norman (Tim Matheson) reluctantly returns to his hometown with his wife (Brooke Adams) to pursue a job. Jim is haunted by the childhood memory of his brother being murdered by a group of teenagers, who were then struck by a train before they could kill him, too. To Jim's horror, he finds that the teenagers have returned to town as they appeared before they died, and are transferring into his class. When his students start dying off, Jim becomes the prime suspect.

Director: Tom McLoughlin
Producer: Michael S. Murphey
Screenwriter: Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Production Co: Paradise Films, Dino de Laurentiis Corp.
Rating: R, TV-PG
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Runtime: 1h 37m

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