The Tommyknockers (1993)

For some reason I always avoided this movie, despite enjoying most of the Stephen King movie adaptations as a teenager. It was simply because of the horrible title that I stayed clear of it. But having a chance to have seen it in 2015, after all these years, I finally got around to watching it.The idea behind "The Tommyknockers" was adequate; a buried alien spacecraft holds some extraterrestrial force that invades the minds of the residents of a small rural community. Personally, then I didn't fully understand the thing with the missing teeth. And the thing that the people were unearthing just didn't appear extraterrestrial at all.Now, I say mediocre Sci-Fi horror because it just didn't manage to step beyond and become interesting. As for the acting, well they had some good talents on the cast list, with a number of familiar faces. The actors and actresses did good jobs with their roles, despite having storyboard limitations working against them.The special effects in "The Tommyknockers" weren't impressive, not even by the standards back in 1993. However, I will say that the inside of the alien spacecraft was actually quite good. And the creature design of the alien creatures was good as well, it was the typical "grey one" design, but buffed up with a pinch of horror. And it worked out quite well."The Tommyknockers" isn't the best of Stephen King movie adaptations, but it is adequate enough for a single viewing.

Stephen King was bored one afternoon, so he scribbled out a story about some buried artifacts being uncovered and possessing people's brains. In this town, there's not much in the way of brains to take over. You know that somebody's possessed; how? They have green neon eyes, that's how. Why you hear little kids singing a jump-rope rhyme is never explained, but it sure is annoying.Let's back up a moment. This is one of those King novels that was turned into a mini-series. Leave about 30% of the footage on the cutting room floor to shave this to its proper run time, and it would be better. The entire first two hours is character development: a complete waste of time because possessed people lose their personalities anyway. The blonde bimbo never has a personality-before or after possession-but I digress. The main problem is that the townsfolk are eminently boring. Those that get possessed, have weird green eyes, but they're still boring. There are some moments of gross-out bloody deaths, but somehow the film makes even these dull.A quick note: the cast is not at fault for the shallow characters. The acting is rather professional and convincing (considering what they had to work with), and rises miles above the juvenile writing. The only fault the actors had was allowing their agents to sign them up for this pointless misfire.The film does scratch out a few useful moments here and there; the closing sequence is interesting, even though it predictably fails to resolve anything.Rent Plan 9, instead. At least that film is funny.

The novel Tommyknockers was one of Steve King's earlier attempts to do sci-Fi, and it was only moderately successful. King fused his usual horror plot structure formula to a basic alien possession plot and added his standard strong character development. The characters were, in this case, better than the plot deserved. John Power's three-hour TV adaptation leaves most of the story intact, but drops some of the crazier and more absurd elements of the original work. Even without reading the original, those familiar with King's work will notice the restrained manner in which the climax takes place.In the woods behind Bobbie Anderson's (Marg Helgerson) house, something is buried. Some say it is an Indian curse, some say it's a holy place, but in general, the members of the little New England town of Derry don't go there. But one day, while her recovering alcoholic boyfriend Jim Gardner (Jimmy Smits) is out doing a poetry reading, Bobbie and her dog Pete start digging. Before long, Derry starts experiencing miracles, accompanied by green glowing lights.The casting is superb, and with the exception of an overcooked performance by Traci Lords, the acting is fairly good. Smits and Helgerberger are very good. The characterizations in this three hour long film fairly represent the original work, but the script lacks some of the original's punch. The cinematography is solid for a TV movie and the special effects are good. Tommyknockers is well edited, competently directed and fairly entertaining, but, like the original novel, it is not one of King's better works.Recommended for King fans. Weakly recommended for Sci-Fi fans.

After reading the book and watching the film adaption, you can't help thinking the plot has been lifted largely from Quatermass and the pit - a 1958 UK TV serial and a 1967 film of the same name.The similarities are striking: alien ship crash-lands on earth and is buried underground. Ship discovered many years later and begins to revive its powers and affecting those around it, with eventual consequences for the whole of mankind.It ends with a single saviour (Dr Quatermass) who is leagues more interesting than the poet in Tommyknockers. The difference is, however, Quatermass is genuinely thought-provoking and quite chilling given the low-budget origins.In fact, I recommend anyone who was disappointed with Tommyknockers to go get Quatermass and the pit and see how scary a film can really be when aliens are intertwined with humanity and played out on the earth with real city backdrops, instead of some mythical world elsewhere.