User reviews

There's just nothing wrong with this movie, really. It's a rare case where critics absolutely blew it. It has a great plot idea, great actors and is generally entertaining as hell, even after having watched it four times or more.

Much of the criticism doesn't make any sense to me. Someone wrote that the town was ugly from the beginning. Well, otherwise it would be way less realistic. Gaunt used the ugly stuff that was already there to destroy the place and it's citizens, that's what Ed Harris' whole soliloquy at the end was all about. Some critics say it's unpleasant and depressing. I just don't see how. Don't watch any movies about say war then, if this is too dark or too ugly for you. What the hell. Personally i laughed a great deal. It's not a master piece by any means, but a good dark comedy. A fun little movie.

Critics would always find this too mainstream just on account it's a Stephen King story and it deserved better.

I haven't read the novel, but I'd say the essence of the story and with it all of the various articulations of the morals are carried out well enough to produce an effect on the viewer. However classic the main theme is, "careful what you wish for", selling your soul to the devil for a mere material item (for 30 pieces of silver) etc... it's still developed in a way that is unique enough that it makes for a compelling watch.

Ed Harris (order) vs von Sydow (chaos) in a small town setting, with pretty relevant humor dished out on the side throughout (that guy and the jukebox, the priest and reverend feud, "BUSTER"...), in a good paced highly eventful film with spirit that never feels like it drags on, and with the metaphorical aspects (whether innuendos in the dialogue, or elements in the decor...) depicted with care during all two hours of it, all in all makes for a pretty good deal.

I have never read the King novel 'Needful Things' and so can't compare it with this film one way or the other.

But this film, about a mysterious character who sets up a shop in which local residents find various treasures and are then tricked into perpetrating horrors against their neighbours, is entertaining and contains some good characters and marvelously black comedy. Though there are a few cheesy moments (like that ridiculous model which is supposed to represent a skinned dog), the film is still a winner. Max Von Sydow is good as the literally devilish owner of the Needful Things store and the climax is nicely-done.

I'm not a big Stephen King fan but the premise to this story is just great. It should make for a great film but for some reason the film disappoints. Not terribly but you feel like you should have gotten more.

Enter Max von Sydow. The man is an absolute pleasure to watch in any film he is in and no matter how long he appears in a given film it is better for his involvement. Without question one of the world's greatest actors of the twentieth century. This is obviously not his best role but he lends a wonderful Old World charm to this American story, his turn as the shopkeeper saves this movie from being low- quality and brings it up to a decent spooky story.

I have heard that the TBS version is much better as it feature more characterization (what I found to be the weakest part of the film) but I have not seen it. If anyone has any idea where to acquire it please leave a comment.

A strange person comes to a little town named Castle Rock(similarly the name of this movie production) , he's a shopkeeper(Max Von Sidow) delivering fantastic objects to the people, but the items surge an evil forces , terrorizing and originating wreak havoc. The sheriff(Ed Harris) suspects on the scheming seller and owner an antique shop, then he now encounters himself in the middle of a mayhem. The perplexing sheriff attempts to warn everybody his hidden intentions and malignant powers .

The fantastic picture packs weird events, fantasy, irony, some of humor and is quite entertaining. Cast is frankly excellent as Ed Harris, Max Von Sidow, Bonnie Bedelia and magnificent support cast as Amanda Plummer,Morgan Shepard,Ray McKinnon,Don S Davis and the deceased J.T. Walsh as an overacting character. Atmospheric musical score by Patrick Doyle including frightening chores coincidentally to Jerry Goldsmith's Omen film and colorful cinematography by Anthony Westman. This is an acceptable big screen directorial debut for Charlton Heston's son, named Fraser C Heston though the outcome isn't as good as you'd expect. Written by W. D. Ritcher, a Sci-Fi expert which seem doesn't improve in the transition from page to screen and based on horror master Stephen King's bestselling novel of the same title. King movies rendition are converting as prolific as his novels, from ¨Creepshow¨ along with ¨Cats's eye¨, ¨Silver bullet¨,¨Maximum overdrive¨ unique directed by King and various TV take on as ¨Rose red, The storm of the century,The stand,Golden years and Langoliers¨ have been numerous his adaptations. Rating : Passable and acceptable .

"Needful Things" is a typical mediocre Stephen King adaptation. The drawn out book itself isn't among King's best work. Still, the fascination of the story lies in the detail and that had to be trimmed down for a 2 hours-movie version (there is another cut of the movie that's one hour longer, by the way). A lot of things had to be kicked out, but there was way too much changing around of events, items and characters. Ace Merril, a very important character for the novel's big finale, was ignored completely, for instance. I could understand things like that if they improved the movie. Kubrick made a lot of changes with his version of "Shining" and at least one could see why. With "Needful Things" the changes seem totally random and that's rather annoying for someone who has read the book.

If you don't know the story beforehand the movie will probably still seem rushed. You can't really make a connection with the many characters and Sheriff Alan Pangborn finding out what's going on in the town seems unbelievable. It didn't really work in the book, but in the movie it's just stupid that he would draw such far fetched conclusions so quickly.

The acting, on the other hand, is solid. Max von Sydow is a good choice for the part of Leland Gaunt, and Ed Harris is great as ever, although he has to work with a rather mediocre script. The sidecharacters are okay for the most part, even though Polly Chalmers and Wilma Jerzyck are maybe exaggerated.

Unlike a lot of latter King adaptations this one seems to have been made with a decent budget. The locations look good and there are a few nice special effects. At times the explosions and the score can be too much, though. It's as if director Fraser Clarke Heston realized his movie wasn't turning out as exciting as he hoped, so he decided to blow it up with some dramatic music and fire.

Well, as I've said in the headline. This movie could have been a lot better, but it could also have been a complete failure. As it is, it's good for one viewing but if you've read the novel you're going to be disappointed.

I love Stephen King, and I've tried to see as many of the movie adaptations of his books as possible. I haven't read a Stephen King book I didn't like - and Needful Things was the first Stephen King book I ever read, so it has a special spot for me. I think this was a pretty good movie, but could have been better if made into a mini-series and more of the stories in the plot could have been developed more fully. I realize this isn't always possible, but in the case of this movie, so many important plot twists were left out it was kind of hard to recognize the story. I think the casting was pretty good and this is a cute little movie to watch if you have some time to kill. But I definitely recommend that you pick up the book and read it if you want the whole story. You'll be shocked to see how much was left out.

As an horror lover I never have been a too big fan of Stephen King or his horror movie adaptations, since I find his work to be very formulaic but I've always enjoyed watching this pleasant light little movie.

Without its fun the movie probably would had been a really terrible picture. If the movie had been all serious some of the moments within the movie for sure would not had worked out and would had been painfully bad and laughable instead. But it's as if the movie had foreseen this and went with an often light and pleasant approach instead. The movie never takes itself too serious, for which you can also thank director Fraser Clarke Heston, who indeed is the son of screen legend Charlton Heston.

The movie has a good story, in which the devil in flesh, played by Max von Sydow, is setting people up against each other by letting them perform tasks for them, so they can get their 'needful' thing from him. The story is nicely constructed and build up and shows a different but interesting portrayal of the devil, as a man who uses people their own sins to set them up against each other and let them commit horrible acts, without ever getting dirty hands himself.

The movie has a pretty amazing cast with actors such as Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Amanda Plummer and J.T. Walsh all involved. Von Sydow plays a great role and so does Ed Harris, though for a 'main hero' he just doesn't have quite the screen time you would expect him to have. Also great was J.T. Walsh in a crazy role in which his character more and more starts to derail. These were the kind of roles he always was best at.

The movie has a kind of cheap look over it. A kind of look you would perhaps more expect from a TV movie, which might be due to Fraser Clarke Heston inexperience as a director, though it also is definitely true that this movie was just fairly cheap made and got never aimed toward a large audience and in many countries never made it to the cinemas.

Simply one fine and enjoyable movie, that you just don't need to take too seriously.

8/10

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"Needful Things" is an adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. It is heavily judged by the fans of the book, but for us who didn't read it, this is a pretty good movie. Mysterious older gentleman moves to Castle Rock, King's fictional town in Maine that you can often encounter in his work, and opens some Kind of antique shop, where everyone can find what they desire the most. But the owner isn't interested as much in their money as he wants his customers to do some favors for him. These seemingly small favors, in mutual interaction, threaten to turn this peaceful town into the scene of the local apocalypse.

I can imagine that screenplay probably butchered the original material, but for us who didn't read it, this is quite decent and very imaginative story. There is a variety of interesting and quite well-developed characters, and cast and their performances are probably the strongest quality of this movie. Ed Harris is expectedly good in the role of the local sheriff that saves the day, and Max von Sydow is a perfect mysterious salesman. There's also Amanda Plummer, Honey Bunny from "Pulp Fiction", whose character is one of the most interesting ones and whose clash with Valri Bromfield is, in my opinion, the most powerful scene in the movie. In one of the main roles is Bruce Willis' wife from "Die Hard", sexy Bonnie Bedelia, as well as Duncan Fraser in the role of a priest. Directing and camera have several really good moments, effects are totally decent for their time, and also there are few quite nice slasher/gore scenes. Admittedly, the movie lacks some seriousness and suspense and overall atmosphere seems more like an adaptation of comic-book than a novel. For my taste, it's not a bad thing, although it's hard for me to consider it a horror movie. But to be honest, King essentially isn't a horror writer at all, King is a genre of its own.

7,5/10

Despite the fact that this film is based on yet another Stephen King novel, it is worth watching -- especially for the performance by Max von Sydow as the "old boy himself."

I watched the "director's cut" once on TV that had many scenes in it which were cut from the theatrical version. None of the restored scenes was especially good. It is interesting to note that practically every moment of Max von Sydow's performance is in both versions. He holds the screen with every sly look, every smooth utterance. He is a true joy to watch in this retelling of the Fause legend. It proves what a wonderful actor he is -- he has played Jesus (THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD), Ming the Merciless (FLASH GORDON), and many other parts. Playing the Devil allows him to chew the scenery in grand style.

The small town of Castle Rock suddenly changes when Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) opens a store called Needful Things. Soon, everyone finds something they want, and have a high price to pay for it. The town turns itself inside out!

I enjoyed this film, watching it at a friend's house while swirling a glass of zinfandel. It is really made by having Max von Sydow as Leland Gaunt. Without von Sydow in this role -- looking very much the successful of Vincent Price -- the film may have become just another poor King adaptation. But I think this one is one of the better attempts, or at least above average.

I find it interesting that Sheriff Alan Pangborn, played here by Ed Harris, also appears in "The Dark Half" (1993), released earlier the same year, in which the part is played by Michael Rooker. I wish they would have kept the casting the same. King's novels overlap, and I think if the films did, too, it would create more of a demand for them, and make the overarching story more interesting. This story connects also to "Stand By Me", but you would never know it from the film.

The film was directed by Fraser C. Heston, the son of actor Charlton Heston. It was Heston's first project, and an admirable one. To me, it feels like many of King's films have a similar look or feel to them, and I wonder if this is intentional, or if I am just crazy. But if it is intentional, Heston nails it.

While there are other King adaptations I would recommend first -- It, The Shining, Carrie and Dead Zone, just off the top of my head -- this is still better than some, and a good deal better than a lot of the horror films out there. If you are unsure, I say go for it.

Where can you still get some kicks if you have already existed for many centuries and, thanks to your manipulative talents and supernatural evil forces, were involved in – or even directly responsible for - the greatest tragedies and cataclysms of our not-so civilized world's history? Here's an idea; why not install yourself in a remote little New England community, full of naive and easily influential villagers, and gradually cause them to exterminate each other! Meanwhile you just stand at the sideline and observe with a devilish smile on your immortal face! This is exactly Leland Gaunt's intention when his old-timer Mercedes arrives in the sleepy little town of Castle Rock, Maine. In his charming antique store named Needful Things, Gaunt offers a unique item per resident that they either always craved or desperately require, whether it's a rare collector's item baseball card, an authentic 1950's football jacket or a cure to chronicle pain. Leland Gaunt does not ask for a payment, he asks for a favor. And these favors are to bring harm to others, which eventually brings the entire community at a state of war. "Needful Things" is an adaptation of a Stephen King novel and that brings me to repeat my unpopular opinion that he's often a plagiarist… This is at least the third time already that I encounter a movie of which the basic premise looks an awful lot like that of a much older and far more obscure horror gem. King's widely acclaimed novel and movie "Misery" bears a lot of resemblance to a rare 70's exploitation gem entitled "The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie", his mini-series "Storm of the Century" is actually an elaboration of the forgotten 80's low-budget flick "A Day of Judgement" and this "Needful Thing" could pretty much be described as a re-telling of Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked this Way Comes". The surrounding is different, with an antique store instead of a traveling circus, but the rudimentary plots are exactly alike: how ordinary people are so easily prepared to exchange moral values and sense of civilization in favor of petty desires. Although personified in a mysterious stranger passing through a small village, the real devil is called avarice and selfishness and he homes inside every person. If you watch both movies (or read both novels) back-to-back, it's nearly impossible to deny that Stephen King didn't just borrow Ray Bradbury's bright ideas and altered a few minor details. Of course by this I don't mean to say that "Needful Things" isn't enjoyable. In an overall weak decade for the horror genre in general, this is in fact one of the best efforts, mainly thanks to a terrific ensemble cast and a few ingenious fright-moments. Max Von Sydow depicts a splendid evil caricature and other respectable names like J.T. Walsh, Ed Harris, Don S. Davis and Amanda Plummer go over-the-top exactly the way they should. Admirable direction as well, by Fraser Clarke Heston. Yeah, Charlton's son!

The stage curtains open ...

This Stephen King adaptation gives us a lesson on how to play devil's advocate - and what better way to learn than from the devil himself! After such novels as "The Dead Zone", "Cujo", and "The Dark Half" (all of which took place in or around Castle Rock), we were given what was to be the last Castle Rock story with "Needful Things".

Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) has come to Castle Rock, opening up a quaint, novelty and antique store that contains just about anything for anybody. In fact, it contains something for everybody - something that is so endearing or special, that the customer might be willing do anything to possess it. The store is called "Needful Things". As his clientele grows, so do the problems around town, since there is more involved with simply paying a price. His customers must also do a special deed for him. Deeds that will soon throw this once peace loving community into total chaos. Fortunately, Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) is there to restore order.

I know this particular film was not well received and was given some fairly bad reviews. I, for one, enjoyed it. I'm not saying it was one of the best Stephen King adaptations. I'm not even saying that it was a good movie. I'm just saying that I liked it. I felt it captured the mood and feel of a very dark time in Castle Rock's town history very well. The characters were developed well with decent performances, and the cinematography was perfect for this film.

This isn't one of my favorite movies, but I still get it out from time to time to watch. It truly is a fun story that comes from the imagination of one of the best authors of our time. "Needful Things" deserves its little slice of that pie and should be watched and enjoyed. 7 stars out of 10.

After the lush, inspiring aerial shot in fast motion in the opening of the movie, this slipped into utter boredom and a one tone note right till the end.

Where to begin, well I'll start with the characters. I really enjoyed them in the book, here they all were types and one dimensional morons that either had "Victim" or "Asshole" written on their foreheads from the get go. How any one didn't see through the store owner Lealand Gaunt (in a hammy and out of place performance by Sydrow)is beyond me.

This film lacks in thrills, suspense, and in some sense yes, entertaining values. It stretches itself for far too long with not a lot of pay off. Why introduce too many annoying should-die-quick type of characters and then forget about half of them half way through? In the book practically everyone that went into the store met a grisly fate. Here, besides one of the only decent scenes that translated well from the novel (the fight between Wilma and Nettie), was a letdown and didn't have much balls. I'm sorry but after, one off screen death,a boring shoot off, and some bickering and then a couple explosions just didn't do it for me. The brutality and mean spiritedness from the book was sadly missing. The explosion of the church scene was so over the top and badly executed, all of sudden the entire city was in a brawl? It made no sense and characters that weren't introduced all the way through suddenly are, who are these people and why should I care?

The story is all over the place and none of the scenes had momentum. I thought Ed Harris and Bonnie Bedeila were good actors in this, but the movie gives them not enough substance for me to give a damn. Amanda Plummer was credible but too pathetic to really be sympathetic (in the novel she was a sad and depressing character)here it was a too one note. J.T. Walsh was entertaining, but the role was far from interesting or layered. Too predictable.

The soundtrack was too classy for the material it was supporting. It stood out like sore thumb. Easy there buddy, easy. Something a little less theatrical I'd assume would have worked.

I will admit some of the gore it did manage to have was good enough I guess, The director seemed to hold back a lot of the times though. If your going to make a movie that reaches the 2 hr point be sure to have far more going on then this disaster of a adaption of on of Kings better novels.

I often found myself laughing at scenes that were suppose to be taken seriously (Ed Harris speech at the end, or the character Hugh Priest in general), and was bored and uninterested most of the other time. Personally the director should have done so much more with this story, his approach is too tame and hides behind too much crisp cinematography to ever come off as a decent movie. The movie looks good, but not the look I think this story deserved. I mean, this dude helmed ALASKA,not a good sign.

I'd rather just read the book, as you should too as if it is far more entertaining,layered character development, grisly violence and mayhem, a nasty sense of humour, and far more oomph. This is a butchered version, that has not much to offer.

** out of ****

Needful Things is directed by Fraser C. Heston and is adapted for the screen by W.D. Richter from the novel of the same name written by Stephen King. It stars Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, J. T. Walsh and Amanda Plummer. The community of Castle Rock in Maine is all a tizzy when a new curio gift shop called Needful Things opens its doors. The proprietor is the mysterious Leland Gaunt (Sydow), who agrees to part with special goods in return for the buyer playing pranks on somebody in the community. Pranks that will have far reaching consequences for everyone in Castle Rock.

To enjoy Needful Things a number of factors will need to be taken into consideration: have you read the book, do you like the book, do you even like Stephen King as a rule and are you expecting another adaptation like Misery (1990)? I wouldn't dream of trying to sell this as a great King adaptation for the big screen, because it's not, but that's no great surprise since great King adaptations seem to come around about as often as Halley's Comet! But it does have much going for it as a time filling piece of entertainment. The book was a door stopper (I personally thought it was great), but Heston (son of Chuck) and Richter have trimmed off the edges and condensed the core aspects of the book into what is now a two hour movie (it was originally a three hour cut). The result is a pacey piece of devilment that's flecked by horror as it sneakily observes human foibles.

Boasting a better budget that's normally afforded a middle tier King adaptation, Needful Things also benefits from being able to assemble a very strong cast. And on the money they are too. Sydow has a great time, relishing another chance to play charismatic villainy and Harris as the Sheriff is a bastion of hard working honest Americana. Among the supporting cast of the unstable variety, Amanda Plummer nails the role of timid waitress Nettie Cobb, playing it like a coiled spring waiting to unwind, while J. T. Walsh (always value for money as a character actor) does a neat line in corporate bully boy loony on the edge. It's here with the number of characters in the story that the negative flip side of the film shows its hand. With the trimming and cutting comes the inevitable absence of character development, something that is evident both in the book and the film's extended form. So here's the final question on if you can enjoy the film: can you accept lack of depth in the narrative to get a brisker film?

As it stands it asks a lot from its audience, and without doubt it doesn't have all the answers. But if entering with average expectations, and able to answer yes and no in the right places to the questions posed above? You might just enjoy this more than you thought possible at the outset. 6.5/10

Reading the book I felt once again drawn into Castle Rock (Needful Things being the final part of the Rock trilogy), and the plot was a variant on the "demon comes to small redneck village" type story King likes to tell. The characters were all described in loving detail, and it made both a good psychological and gory horror. The film on the other hand is awful. Gone are the character interactions and clever plot, and replaced by a story that tries to be exciting but misses by a mile. If you haven't read the book then you might enjoy this, else avoid at all costs, as with most films of King's books.

Don't get some of the hate for this movie. Must watch for King readers and all other movie lovers.

The 1993 movie "Needful Things" is definitely one of the better and more memorable of movie adaptations of a Stephen King novel. And it is actually a movie that has quite the replay value to it as well. I have seen the movie maybe five times now since 1993, and the movie keeps being enjoyable and entertaining.

The storyline in "Needful Things", as written by Stephen King and W. D. Richter, is a rather nicely written storyline, and it has many interesting layers to it. And that is what makes "Needful Things" such a watchable movie. I like the way that the entire narrative is set up, and even having watched it several times, the storyline remains entertaining with each viewing.

And not only is the storyline good, but the cast ensemble in "Needful Things" as well. There are a lot of great talents and familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, Amanda Plummer, J. T. Walsh, William Morgan Sheppard, Don S. Davis, Lochlyn Munro and more.

If you enjoy a well-told supernatural thriller, then sit down to watch the 1993 movie "Needful Things", if you haven't already. It is quite worth spending two hours on.

My rating of "Needful Things", from director Fraser C. Heston, lands on a seven out of ten stars.

This overly-long movie with a strong made-for-TV feel is as scary as bingo at your local church on Saturday night. It's supposed to be suspenseful, but I saw no evidence of that. It starts and seems to just go on and on.

A boring story set in a boring town with no interesting characters. In fact, it's typical of most of Stephen King's lackluster novels written in the past 30 years but maybe the book is more interesting and captivating than this barely watchable drama that isn't saved by the late, great Max Von Sydow. As for Ed Harris, he is, well, Ed Harris playing Ed Harris as he always does.