Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Sometimes They Come Back Blu-ray Movie Review

Not always. Just sometimes for the very unlucky few.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 9, 2016

History doesn't exactly repeat itself in Sometimes They Come Back. Instead, it recreates itself. From the mind and pen of renowned Author Stephen King and Director Tom McLoughlin (Friday the 13th Part VI), the film, based on King's short story of the same name, tells the tale of a man who must literally confront his horrific past when he and his family move to his old hometown, for him a place of personal pain and tragedy. The movie sees the intersection of deeply held inner pain and outwardly manifested horrors in a balanced blend of strong narrative storytelling and tension-filled scares. The movie thrives on outer simplicity and deep, insightful characterization, all made possible by the King storytelling flair and penchant for intermixing the real and the fantastical, none of which get lost in translation from page to screen.

Make more. Teach. And get a class full of kids that want your head!

Jim Norman (Tim Matheson) moves his family -- wife Sally (Brooke Adams) and son Scott (Robert Hy Gorman) -- from Chicago back to his old hometown to take a teaching job. The return home, however, brings back a flood of old, bad memories. Jim's younger brother was murdered by a gang of greasers some time ago, who were subsequently killed when their car was hit by a train. The family moves into an old fixer-upper house and settles in as well as can be expected. One of Jim's classes is full of seniors who demand a passing grade in exchange for performance on the football field. Jim doesn't give in, which puts him at odd with the jocks. He has a couple of good kids in the class, but they start turning up dead. And as they die, "transfer" students who look just like the greasers that killed his brother fill the vacancies. Soon, the entire greaser gang is back together and Jim and his family find themselves under siege and targets for revenge.

Thoughts on Sometimes They Come Back always seem to come back to one word: "simplicity." That might be a curse in lesser hands and from a lesser source, but here, and under King's always-brilliant construction, it's a wonderful asset. The story never tries to go too far, spread too thin, or make a jumble of itself. It's a literal manifestation of "the past haunts the soul." The movie favors a slow-burn exposition that follows a simple pattern that identifies the core narrative pieces and gradually expands on them until it reaches a climax that's not at all unpredictable but that does bring a good, basic resolution to the story, a resolution that, like the rest of the movie, intermixes core human emotions with paranormal happenings. It works because King's source material, McLoughlin's direction, and Matheson's performance keep it all on a believably even keel, allowing for a gradual realization of what's happening and why, and an ability for all of the characters, and the audience, to take it all in at face value. The movie never challenges, pushes too hard, or forces its hand. It's remarkably organic, even as it's flatly unbelievable. It's a great example of creative, character-driven fiction that admittedly worked a little better solely on the page and in King's hands but that makes for one of the better King screen translations out there.

Much of the story centers around "triggers," a word that's been bandied about a lot in recent times but that, here, presents a very real definition of the term. Norman moves his family back to a place of pain, where that pain will be a constant reminder of his past rather than a lingering, increasingly distant pain that it must have been far away in Chicago. His wife almost tactlessly and thoughtlessly allows her son to show him a toy train car they bought in town, which is only the beginning of a troubling journey backwards in time, while staying in the present. In many ways, the movie is more interesting as Norman deals with these triggers and surfacing pains in a more believable, inward manner than when his past literally becomes a physical manifestation in front of his eyes. The movie deals in, again, simple inner psychology that gradually transformers into an outer complication that sees his past intersect with is present. The movie could even be interpreted as much as a metaphorical commentary on psychological trauma and triggers as it can be on its face value, and it's probably more interesting taken that way. But King and McLoughlin mold the story in such a way that the meeting of the two is just as interesting, and leaves the door open for more than the simplest of story and theme dissections.

Sometimes They Come Back Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sometimes They Come Back arrives on Blu-ray with a passable 1080p transfer. Grain tends to waver from spiky and heavy to practically nonexistent. At many points in the movie there's a smoothed over, noise reduced look that's not debilitating, but that's certainly not organic. Details never rise above "average." Clothing, such as varsity jackets, sports coats, and sweaters reveal only basic fabric textures. Faces only rarely find any level of sustained complexity. Old paint, bricks, grass, and other details in and around the family's new home showcase enough raw texturing to please, but not enough to impress. Boosted overall clarity thanks to the 1080p resolution is the only major benefit here. Colors are largely neutral, with grassy and leafy greens, colors around the school, and various pieces of attire all managing to present well enough. Flesh tones don't struggle, but black levels waver between crush and brightness. "Serviceable" is the first word that comes to mind to define this middling presentation from Olive Films.

Sometimes They Come Back Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sometimes They Come Back features a straightforward and rather bland DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Noting about the track stands apart as in any way impressive, but generally the track satisfies base requirements. Dialogue can be a little flat but it enjoys a good "phantom center" placement. Music plays with a fair sense of space, but the stage never feels lengthened across the front. Clarity is very basic, and there's little sense of dynamic range and pinpoint definition throughout. Action elements fail to elicit much detail, whether a crude explosion in chapter three or a few gunshots in the third act that fall dull and are absent punch. Minor nighttime exterior ambience lingers around the stage during a police search midway through the movie, but it certainly never envelops the listener or shapes the place. The track gets listeners through the movie, no more and no less.

Sometimes They Come Back Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Olive Films' Blu-ray release of Sometimes They Come Back contains only the film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:28).

Sometimes They Come Back Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sometimes They Come Back is a very good movie that deals in the worlds of the wounded psyche meeting the supernatural manifestations of pain and fear. The movie never loses that Stephen King flair for outwardly simple yet inwardly complex characterization and storytelling. The movie is well acted and assembled. It's both entertaining and thought-provoking beyond the cruder plot points. Olive Films' Blu-ray release lacks substantive bonus features. Video and audio qualities are passable, nothing more. Recommended on the strength of the film only.