alexanderdavies-99382 "Needful Things" is the kind of horror film you can't forget. Its shocking scenes of violence and the way in which so-called civilised people tend to be amongst each other, gave me a slight chill (not many horror films can do that). Max Von Sydow takes the acting honours as the supernatural and sadistically evil creature in human form. He oozes a kind of demonic charm that most of the locals can fail to resist. He was born for this role. Ed Harris as the police officer who welcomes the change of pace after being transferred to a seaside town, is ok but I've never really been a fan of his work. The atmosphere is carefully created and sustained throughout and the climax is unforgettable. The only thing that I would have liked, would have been for the film to have been made into a mini series. Doing this would have meant that more story from the novel could have been included. One of the better cinema adaptations from a Stephen King book.

Bryan Kluger I'm a huge fan of Stephen King. My parents started me on Stephen King at an early age so that I could learn to love to read. Needless to say, I was sucker from the first one I picked up in the late 80s, even if I didn't quite understand everything at the time. One of the more fascinating Stephen King books was 'Needful Things'. I thought the idea was original and quite cool in that there was a store where you could buy rare items that did "odd" things along with a kooky store owner. I liked to pretend that my local comic book store that had the old vintage issues and rare action figures stored in the back had special powers, and that after I saved my allowance over several weeks, I'd purchase these rare items and I'd gain some sort of coolness or powers.Granted, 'Needful Things' is much darker than that, but I liked to compare the two. In 1993, during the big string of Stephen King movies and TV shows that were adapted from his stories came 'Needful Things', which was one of the bigger budget and A-List starring projects of the Stephen King periodic table. The studio got Fraser C. Heston (Charlton Heston's son who played baby Moses in 'The Ten Commandments') to direct the film. Fraser's claim to fame was 'Treasure Island' and being a 2nd unit director on 'City Slickers'. They also hired on W.D.Richter to writer the screenplay who has an interesting resume. He adapted 'The Invasion of the Body Snatchers', directed 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension', and co-wrote 'Big Trouble in Little China'.With those three credits alone, you can tell he is a cult icon favorite in the genre. Rounding out the cast is an impressive Ed Harris playing the small town's sheriff and of course the legendary actor Max Von Sydow to play the main sinister character. I think the reason this movie receives the unsavory reviews and feelings is that the film version is too short to dive into the multiple character's story arcs. The film was made for television as well and was an hour longer, which gave us quite a bit more character development, but this is the theatrical version and runs at two hours. It keeps the pace quick, however the character development is lacking.I think at one point, the studio was trying to secure the rights to the longer version, but everything fell through and is not on this release. Maybe another time, right? Like most Stephen King stories, this particular one takes place in Castle Rock, a small town in which everyone knows everyone's name and are quick to help out each other. Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) is the sheriff of the town and keeps a close and calm eye on everything. An elderly man shows up in town one day and opens up a new store that sells one-of-a-kind antiques.This man is known as Leland Gaunt (Max Von Sydow). He is quite humorous and spry. He quickly starts selling these interesting and mysterious antiques to the townsfolk and usually accepts payment in the form of the buyer pulling a simple practical joke or prank on their neighbors. In addition to these weird suggestions of payment, these one-of-a-kind objects seem to have special powers that coincide with the buyer's personal lives, but it all comes at a price. Sooner than later the practical jokes and pranks become bigger and the once peaceful town starts turning on each other, much to the happiness of Gaunt who watches from his home and storefront.Sheriff Pangborn figures out that this all started with the arrival of Gaunt and begins to investigate further, only to find that Pangborn is definitely not who he says he is. What sells this movie so well are the performances, specifically that of Ed Harris and Max Von Sydow. Harris plays the town sheriff to perfection. He instantly comes off as the smart detective that seems to put things together from the get-go. He has a clam, but stern manner to him, and it plays out very well.Then there is Max Von Sydow, and how do you not like him in anything? I know, it's impossible. It's no different here as he plays Gaunt flawlessly. You like the guy, but you can't help but be scared of him at every turn. 'Needful Things' in my opinion is still quite good and entertaining. It might not have the scares that 'It' does or the impact of 'The Shining' had on all of us, but it still holds its own with the performances and screenplay.

Scott LeBrun The day to day lives of the good people of Castle Rock, Maine are shook up by a new arrival. Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) is a charming, dashing figure who opens up a curiosity shop named Needful Things. This place can basically give you whatever object you desire the most. Naturally, there's a very heavy price to be paid for obtaining these items... Soon the flustered sheriff, Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) is having to deal with a town full of madmen and madwomen who are all now at each others' throats, ready to kill.The main attraction in this Stephen King adaptation is some very apt casting. If nothing else makes this watchable, it's the performances. Harris and the late, superior character actor J.T. Walsh are allowed the opportunity to overact as they hadn't done before. Walsh, often a man relegated to various white collar criminal and sleazy guy roles, is a scream as the unhinged politician convinced that he's being persecuted by the world at large. Harris is a likable hero. Bonnie Bedelia is very appealing as his love interest Polly. Amanda Plummer and Valri Bromfield, like Walsh, sink their teeth into their scenery devouring roles. Familiar faces in the cast also include Duncan Fraser, William Morgan Sheppard, Don S. Davis, Frank C. Turner, and Lochlyn Munro. The movie does give the legendary Mr. von Sydow a chance to have some fun, and he is utterly charming as the sinister Mr. Gault, but he's never what you could consider truly scary. At best, he's sort of creepy. Lisa Blount has an uncredited cameo as Cora Rusk.The King novel isn't one of his best, but it *is* quite entertaining with its character vignettes, and this adaptation (by screenwriter W.D. Richter) just doesn't size up as that satisfying. In making the transition from book to movie, it loses some impact. It's just not that meaty, and in the end is sort of weak, being content to kill off no more than a few characters. (The body count in the book is MUCH higher; the climactic riot is a real corker.) It's reasonably well made; the director is Fraser C. Heston (Charltons' son) and the excellent music is by Patrick Doyle.At least it manages to end with a big bang, which is pretty impressive. The best moments tend to belong to Walsh.An alternate, extended TV version of this exists that is titled "More Needful Things". This viewer would be most interested in watching that version and seeing if it works any better.Six out of 10.

SnoopyStyle It's the small coastal town of Castle Rock. Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) comes to open a store called Needful Things. He has some of the most evil Things to sell and he keeps a record of sales in his little book. Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) asks diner owner Polly Chalmers (Bonnie Bedelia) to marry him. Nettie Cobb (Amanda Plummer) is the waitress at the diner. Danforth Keeton III (J.T. Walsh) is the bullying businessman.This town is full of weirdly unlikeable characters. It doesn't seem to be where the movie should start with. It would be much better to have an idyllic town on the surface and the objects would bring out the ugliness. The town starts off ugly. Also the story seems set up for a serial TV show where each object can be its own episode. This movie has only one thing going for it and that's Max von Sydow. It's a movie about the villain more than any other character. That leaves the movie repeating the same tone over and over again. There isn't any surprises and there isn't any excitement. It's a very boring movie.