Movie: The Tommyknockers (1993)
Film Synopsis:
Part OneBobbi Anderson (Marg Helgenberger), a western fiction writer, and her boyfriend, Jim "Gard" Gardner (Jimmy Smits), a poet, live with their dog, Petey, on the outskirts of the small town of Haven, Maine. Anderson suffers from writers block and Gardner is a recovering alcoholic who is not currently writing. One day, they stumbled upon a man-made stone object protruding from the ground. They begin excavating the object and discover a series of connected cubes made of an unknown alloy. There were several other townspeople. Postal worker Joe Paulson (Cliff de Young) is cheating on his wife, Deputy Becka Paulson (Alice Beasley), with her co-worker, Nancy Voss (Traci Lords). Most people in town dislike Voss for his adulterous ways, and only Paulson seems unaware of her husbands activities. Bryant Brown (Keith Carradine) and his wife, Marie (Corley), run a local restaurant. Maries father, EV Hillman (i.e. Marshall), lives with them and helps care for the couples sons, 10-year-old Hillman "Hilly" (Woods) and seven-year-old Davey (McIver). Sheriff Ruth Merrill (Joanna Cassidy) watches over the town. She is also an avid doll collector. Trooper Butch Duggan (John Ashton) is Merrills liaison to the state police, and shows little respect for the small town sheriff. As Anderson and Gardner unearth more objects, the local townspeople begin to experience subtle changes. Insomnia became common along with rudimentary telepathy. Some people started creating wild gadgets using kitchen tools, batteries, small appliances and other odds and ends. Some of the inventions include an automatic letter sorter, a telepathic typewriter and a BLT sandwich maker that creates sandwiches from raw ingredients. This invention has a green light when active. Gardner was amazed when Andersons "telepathic typewriter" was able to produce a well-written novel about buffalo warriors. Anderson also began compulsively digging around the artifacts, uncovering more and more. Gardner, however, experienced no creative or mental effects, and was very concerned about his behavior. Gardner has a metal plate in his head from a skiing accident and Anderson believes that it may be inhibiting whatever "enhances" the others. Even children are starting to show changes: Hilly Brown builds a "magic machine" that she shows off at her birthday party. The device makes some inanimate objects disappear and reappear. But when Hilly made his brother Davey disappear, the boy didnt come back. Believing Davey to have run away, Sheriff Merrill leads the town on an unsuccessful search for the child. Marie, saddened by his disappearance, becomes hysterical because of her insomnia. Bryant loses interest in his missing son, and works on his BLT sandwich maker. One night after Joe Paulson stormed out of his house in a fake temperament transmission (a ruse so he could meet Nancy Voss), Paulsons deputy was amazed when he was amazed when he was amazed when he was surprised when he was surprised when he was surprised when he surprised when when when it was surprised when when he was surprised when when he was surprised when he was surprised when he could be surprised when when he was surprised when he was surprised when he was surprised when he could be surprised when he was surprised when he could be surprised when he was surprised when he was surprised when he wonder when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when he wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders when she wonders Host of her favorite television program, She-Devils , started talking directly to him. The host told him that Joe was cheating on him and the show contestants demanded that he kill Joe. The next day, Becka Paulson built the device with instructions given to her by television. When Joe then turns on the television, he is electrocuted. Becka goes crazy, and is placed in a mental institution (where she fools around with "Tommyknockers"). Hilly attempts to recreate the "magic machine" and bring Davey back. Hilly repeats the nursery rhyme of "Tommyknockers," but then suffers a seizure and is rushed to the hospital. Part Two The Search for Davey Brown examines when the people of Haven become more obsessed with their discovery. At the hospital, EV Hillman learns that Hilly has a massive brain tumor and has lost several of his permanent teeth. Back at Haven, Bryant and Marie Brown seem to care less about Davey and Hilly. The townspeople create more fantastical devices, and everyone affected seems drained of energy and life. Meanwhile searching for Davey, Sheriff Merrill finds Bobbi Anderson still digging for a large object. Despite his concerns, Merrill continued his search. Convinced that something in Haven caused his grandsons brain tumor, EV Hillman began researching the towns history. He uncovers newspaper articles going back more than two centuries documenting unexplained mass murders, deadly hunting accidents, and even a Native American chief who claimed the area was cursed. Hillman tries to convince Trooper Duggan to investigate, but Duggan rejects his claims. Nancy Voss continued to create more futuristic devices, including a "disintegrator ray" (contained in lipstick) that emits green light and destroys anything. Most shops were closed and many town functions (like mail) stopped as townspeople worked on their devices. Sheriff Merrill now believes that Anderson had something to do with Davey Browns disappearance, and is close to arresting him. But Merrill became suspicious that more was going on, and returned to his office to call Duggan. Despite Andersons warning that he would have to "join us" or be "punished", Merrill contacted Duggan. The phone line goes dead and Merrill is attacked by the doll. With Merrill missing and Haven cut off, Duggan and two other troops investigate. Duggan is shocked by the apathy of the townspeople and the diseases apparent hair loss, baggy eyes, pale skin, fatigue, etc. When he began to feel nauseous signs that he was beginning to be affected, he left and the illness disappeared. Two other soldiers were killed with Nancy Voss Rays disintegrator. Gardner became worried about Anderson. He returns home to find her hysterical, claiming her dog Petey has died. Gardner tried to take her to the hospital, but she protested and he stayed home. The next day, he looked fine. He also discovered that the garage was padlocked, and Anderson would not let him in. Gardner is worried when he finds out Merrill is missing and the phone lines are down. He spent the evening getting drunk with Bryant Brown, and on the way home staggered into the city park. While sitting in the shadow of a bandstand in the park, he saw Anderson and other townspeople gathered in front of the local church. He realizes that everyone is possessed by evil forces and plans to complete their "becoming". He is discovered and attempts to escape, but his vehicle is disabled and a green energy barrier prevents him from walking out of town. Every time he comes into contact with green energy, the metal plate on his head causes extreme pain. Voss wants to kill Gardner, but Anderson puts him to work digging up a large object in the woods. Meanwhile, Trooper Duggan returns to Haven looking for Merrill and his squad, with Ev Hillman along for the ride. They found the city deserted. Duggan was killed when the soft drink vending machine he was trying to use exploded. Hillman sees some townspeople heading towards a dig in the woods, and follows them. Bryant and Marie lure him to Andersons garage under the pretense that he will be able to see Davey. Gardner, meanwhile, removes one of his teeth with pliers, and tells Anderson that he is starting to feel new thoughts and have visions. Even though he couldnt read Gardners mind, because of the metal plate, he accepted his story. After making love to Anderson, Gardner stole his keys and went to the garage. Inside, he discovers a large amount of alien technology. Petey the Dog, Sheriff Merrill, and EV Hillman have been encased in glowing green crystals and are being used or consumed in some way by alien equipment. However, Hillman is still alive, and he whispers that Gardner must "find the boy." Hillman says Davey is "with Tommyknockers", which leads Gardner to believe the child is inside a buried alien object. Zealand finds Gardner in the garage, but Gardner convinces him that he must descend into the alien object to fully "become" . Gardner and Anderson spent the night digging, and uncovered a new, shining octagon in the earth. They activate it, and a portal opens beneath them. Which takes them hundreds of feet into what is clearly an alien spaceship. They enter the ships command room, filled with mummified aliens. The aliens have fangs, extended skulls, milky eyes and gray skin. Many of the aliens that appear are locked in mortal combat. Anderson and Gardner discover an alien strapped to a giant wheel-like device. They conclude that the aliens control the ship telepathically, and once connected it cannot be removed. Gardner finds Davey encased in the Crystal, his mind drained by the vessel. The ship uses Daveys mental energy as power, and Gardner realizes that it is also draining the life force from Anderson and the others. After a brief fight, Gardner forces Anderson to realize that he was experimenting on his dog and kills the boy. The flood of emotions broke Andersons control over his mind. However, their presence on the ship resurrects one of the "dead" aliens. Gardner, using a discarded knife, decapitates the alien after a brief fight. Gardner and Anderson Free Davey and Anderson bring the boy to the surface. Gardner pulls the dead pilot from the control panel, and plugs himself into the ship. On the surface, the rest of the town realizes that the ship is active and starts running to the excavation site. Anderson and Davey exit the ship and run into the woods. Aboard the buried ship, Gardner destroys the external portal controls, preventing anyone from entering the ship. Bryant Brown tries to use a disintegrator gun on the ships hull, but the ship channels the energy back at him, killing him. Voss, enraged by Browns death, spots Anderson and Davey and chases them into the garage. Unable to use his alien weapons with the technology around him, he tries to kill them with an axe. Hillman appears comatose in his crystal cage, but when Voss gets too close to him, he suddenly reaches out and strangles him to death. Hillman dies, but Anderson is able to save Petey. Underground, the alien ship begins to lift. Most of the alien technology on the surface explodes, forcing Anderson and Brown to flee the garage before they can save Sheriff Merrill. Gardner takes the ship high into the sky, where he causes it to explode. Everyone in the city was freed from the aliens influence and experienced no ill effects. Anderson and his dog are seen later sitting in the woods, looking up at the night sky. Gardner can be heard reciting some of his poetry. Uploaded by: Freeman February 03, 2023 at 01:03 am
Cast: Alan Rosenberg as Jack Kimble Joanna Cassidy as Sheriff Ruth Merrill 2 episodes, 1993 Robert Carradine as Bryant Brown 2 episodes, 1993 Jimmy Smits as Jim Gard Gardner 2 episodes, 1993
Year: 1993
Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi
Rating: 5.4 / 10
