Originally airing on May 7, 1991 on CBS, this TV movie adaption of King’s short story was originally going to be part of Cat’s Eye. The story was originally published in Cavalier Magazine and is part of the short story collection Night Shift.

Jim Norman (Tim Matheson, Buried Alive) has moved back home to become a teacher, years after he watched his little brother Wayne get killed by a teen gang. Soon after, the murderers were killed by an oncoming train, but the nightmares have stayed with Jim for twenty-seven years.

One by one, his students kill themselves and the greaser gang returns from Hell. All Jim has to do is reenact the murder by killing the last surviving member of the gang Carl (William Sanderson, TV’s Newhart) and they will leave his family alone.

Jim wants to bring his brother back from the dead too and is trying to find a way to make it happen. He and Carl try to fool the gang, but their leader stabs Carl and Jim’s brother Wayne returns. The greasers try to escape again, but their car is struck by a ghost train. Wayne asks Jim to join him in heaven, but he decides to stay alive.

The book and novel differ greatly, with Jim’s wife Sally (Brook Adams, The Dead Zone) being killed by the gang and his brother Wayne being a demon that he calls for revenge.

Two sequels followed, Sometimes They Come Back…Again (which Becca recommends more than this film and I’ve been trying to buy her a copy, but it’s near impossible to find on DVD) and Sometimes They Come Back for More.

This is a decent film, directed by Tom McLoughlin, who also directed Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. It has all the trademark King tropes and moves quickly.