SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK

Written by Hombre Divertido

Sometimes They Come Back never should have shown up in the first place.

There have been numerous incarnations of Stephen King stories in theaters and on television, but few have been as poorly executed as this 1991, ninety-three minute, made-for-television bomb directed by Tom McLoughlin from a teleplay by Lawrence Konner.

The story makes little sense, plods along, and is filled with one dimensional performances. Tim Matheson and Brooke Adams, who must have been taking the only roles they could get at the time, look trapped by a script that leaves them nowhere to go.

As a couple returning to the town where Jim Norman (Matheson) grew up, and suffered through a childhood that included the death of his older brother in an accident initiated by a group of stereotypical hoods from the fifties, Jim and Sally (Adams) along with their son (Normally you would list an actors name in parenthesis after referring to the character, but Robert Hy Gorman, who played the son, would probably thank me if I didn't), have returned in hopes of starting over. They need the fresh start due to some violence issues that are never completely revealed that Jim had in his previous teaching job.

So Jim settles into his new teaching job, until his students start dying, and are replaced in class by new kids who just happen to be the same hoods involved in the death of Jim’s brother. The hoods drive a car that not everyone can see and are out for revenge.

The questions as to how they are coming back, why they are coming back, and how they intend to get revenge take far too long to answer, and when the answers come, they make little sense other than "don’t forget your keys."

Though the special effects and make-up are adequate for a B-movie, and the introduction of the one hood (The always wonderful William “Larry” Sanderson) who escaped death in the accident teases the audience with what appears to be an interesting detour, it all eventually leads nowhere.

Recommendation: Some short stories are short for a reason, and should be left that way. There is simply not enough here to warrant ninety-three minutes. Apparently there is a 1996 sequel titled Sometimes They Come Back Again featuring what I am sure are mind-blowing performances by Hilary Swank and Alexis Arquette, so renting the two should make for a nice afternoon nap.

1408

Written by Jámon Y. Huevos

Mikael Hafstrom’s 1408 gets to take a seat of honor next to The Shining as the second of two truly great haunted hotel movies to spark from the mind of Stephen King. John Cusack plays Mike Enslin, the author of two books of haunted hotel reviews. Having separated from his wife after the untimely death of their daughter, Enslin would like nothing more than to believe in the afterlife; unfortunately, he’s never seen any proof. That all changes when he spends the night in room 1408 at New York City’s Dolphin Hotel.

John Cusack cannot receive enough accolades for his taut performance of the heart-broken Enslin. Eighty percent of the film is Cusack in a room by himself and he pulls it off in amazing style. It’s Cusack’s own genuine humanity that shines through so many of the characters he portrays, and Enslin comes off as witty, smart, funny, and sad in a rich and multi-dimensional performance. You just want to hang out with this guy; however, you do not want to hang out in room 1408.

Room 1408 is spectacularly haunted. The screenwriters and director refuse to cut the audience apart with cheap thrills. Even when they have something jump out of the shadows, you feel like those moments were earned because of the more subtle terrors filling the screen for most of the movie. The horror starts slow and then builds and builds. Every possibility is loaded into that room, from ghosts and gruesome murders to fire and ice. This is one roller coaster that is ninety percent slow movement up a long hill, ripe with tension and fear, and ten percent gut-wrenching drop. It’s all about timing and special effects, and the editors and artists work some great magic.

There is one sour note in 1408, and it is very sour. Samuel L. Jackson is an empty hole of acting nothingness in the center of this film. 1408 finally proves that unless Jackson is being shot at, he should stay home in bed. Virtually everybody else in the cast is able to hold their own against Cusack’s magnetism. Of special note are Mary McCormack as Enslin’s wife and Jasmine Jessica Anthony as Enslin’s daughter. Jackson, on the other hand, tries to act entirely with his eyebrows and a straight-edge speaking cadence. This makes his performance look like two caffeinated inch worms frolicking atop a single piano note. It’s an interesting visual, but there ain’t nothing there.

1408 does exactly what it sets out to do, send shivers down your spine with an intelligent story. I’m not sure it could have worked without John Cusack in the lead; he is the perfect everyman. That aside, 1408 is a smart psychological drama with some great bumps in the dark.