Needful Things (1993)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Fraser Clarke Heston

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (book)
W.D. Richter (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Now it's time to pay!

Plot:

Leland Gaunt comes to Sheriff Alan Pangborn's pleasant little New England town, and opens a store. What this kindly Satan sells is whatever you need...

Plot Keywords:

Devil | Prank | Sheriff | Satanism | Second Hand Store

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Max von Sydow	...	Leland Gaunt (as Max Von Sydow)
Ed Harris	...	Sheriff Alan Pangborn
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Polly Chalmers
Amanda Plummer	...	Nettie Cobb
J.T. Walsh	...	Danforth Keeton III
Ray McKinnon	...	Deputy Norris Ridgewick
Duncan Fraser	...	Hugh Priest
Valri Bromfield	...	Wilma Jerzyck
Shane Meier	...	Brian Rusk
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Father Meehan (as W. Morgan Sheppard)
Don S. Davis	...	Reverend Rose
Campbell Lane	...	Frank Jewett
Eric Schneider	...	Henry Beaufort
Frank C. Turner	...	Pete Jerzyck
Gillian Barber	...	Myrtle Keeton

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #32447)

Filming Locations:

Gibsons Landing, Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

For its release in Germany the film's title was changed to "In einer kleinen Stadt", meaning "In A Small Town".

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening scene, Sheriff Pangborn comes to the door of the "Dot" Restaurant. He has a band-aid around his index finger. When he gets inside of the restaurant, the band-aid has disappeared.

Quotes:

Leland: I've always enjoyed ladies who take great pride in themselves.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater: Viki Williamson Night" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Achy Breaky Heart

Needful Things

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.