I first watched 'Tommyknockers' on VHS back in the nineties. I'd been a fan of horror writer Stephen King's work and knew that some of them didn't translate well to film, while only a few did the source material justice. 'Tommyknockers' falls somewhere between the best and the worst. I have to confess that I always enjoyed it and now own it on DVD. However, I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's a masterpiece, or up with the best of King's work (translated to film), or even horror in general.
If you've seen one Stephen King film then you'll know the time of place it's set. Yes, another small New England town falls foul to a supernatural force. This time it seems like whatever's going on is actually helping the residents, allowing them to 'think outside the box' so to speak and start designing all sorts of crazy (and hopefully profitable?) contraptions. So, while everyone from the postmaster to the local chef in the diner start work on weird inventions that will make their lives easier (and make them rich, of course), local writer Jim Gardner (Jimmy Smits feels a little left out. Whereas all his neighbours talk about receiving wonderful ideas beamed into his head, he jokes that it must be the metal plate in his head that's blocking the signal.
There are quite a few characters in 'Tommyknockers' and not all of them are particularly well developed. Some are downright cliches and you may find yourself cringing at some of their dialogue. There's some special effects here and there. The film runs for nearly three hours (in its extended cut) and pretty much all the way through the special effects look like the wouldn't be out of place on nineteen seventies 'Dr Who.' However, during the final act the film-makers obviously knew they better spend their budget somewhere and there are some pretty ugly nasties lurking beneath this quiet little town.
My biggest gripes with the movie was that, first, it's a bit all over the place. Some bits get quite tense and then there are long periods where nothing really happens, or it doubles down on a point it's already made in a previous scene. However, like I say, I still enjoyed it and reckon that anyone who has an appreciation for Stephen King's filmic adaptations should give it a try, or if you're just in the mood for a nineties horror.
The only thing I always come away with was that I was never quite sure what the Tommyknockers' evil plan really was. It's sort of hinted/guessed at near the end, but never set in stone. I guess one drawback of only having the films (silent!) antagonists show up for the last ten minutes of the film means you're left wondering what they were trying to accomplish with their nefarious powers. Maybe it's in the book. But who's going to go to the trouble of reading a book in this day and age? It's fun enough and the very final scene always stuck with me over the years as a real dramatic high-point.
