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Needful Things

Play trailer Poster for Needful Things R 1993 2h 0m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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35% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
When a creepy older man named Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) moves to a small town in Maine and sets up an antique shop, bad things soon follow. Gaunt has the remarkable ability of selling people exactly what they want most, but his ideal purchases come at a price that involves more than just money. Through Gaunt's manipulation, the citizens of the town gradually turn on one another, resulting in violence that Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) struggles to contain.
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Needful Things

Critics Reviews

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Clifford Terry Chicago Tribune This is pulp moviemaking at its worst. Rated: 1/4 Oct 4, 2019 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Needful Things is yet another one of those films based on a Stephen King story that inspires you to wonder why his stories don't make better films. Rated: 1.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy A sloppy romp that borders on camp. Rated: 2/4 Aug 10, 2023 Full Review Allison Rose FlickDirect As the film opens the picture quality is, in a word, awful. However, one minute in, everything changes and the 4K native (2160p) resolution kicks in putting everything in sharp focus with incredible detail. Rated: 3.5/5 Jul 25, 2023 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Reserved for casual viewing and macabre escapism, Needful Things manages to be watchable and forgettable all at once. Rated: 3/4 Feb 23, 2022 Full Review C.H. Newell Father Son Holy Gore A devilishly fun and mysterious mix of the supernatural and personal stories of drama, crime, and all sorts of small town issues. Rated: 4/5 May 6, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ti H. With all the less than positive remarks I must say: 1--it's not as good as the book... I say READ THE BOOK! And 2--it's hokey camp... I say it'd be depressing as all get out if it wasn't handled in a campy way!! NO Stephen King movie is ever as good as the book, BUT The Shining had the phenomenal Jack Nicholson, and Needful Things has Max Von Sydow. This campy rendition makes me WANT to read the book(which is all that matters) --and enjoy this movie, again and again!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/13/25 Full Review Mark J Enjoyable enough but didn’t stop my mind from wandering at points. The two main leads were good but the rest of the cast felt right at home in a low budget movie. It was pretty one note and obvious. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/23/25 Full Review Jasey H All of the wonderful nearly 700 pages of source material and they used maybe 15% of it. The cast could have been so amazing in an actual representation of the novel. The story is so butchered from the book that it doesn't even make sense. The extra hour in the extended version isn't even enough because it's a shadow of the actual story. Needful Things is an epic King masterpiece and like so many of his works, this one was destroyed on screen. Hopefully someone competent will make this into a mini or limited series and actually capture some of what this story has to offer. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/25 Full Review Tom T The only thing I need is Ed Harris! That and some mid-90’s Stephen King classic “recipe into madness” comfort. Embodies what I crave for these days and this feels like a weird episode of Quantum Leap. Jesus? The young carpenter from Nazareth? I knew him well. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/19/24 Full Review Farah R For all its flaws, Needful Things is an enjoyable Steven King adaptation, serving up just enough nostalgia, suspense, and action to keep you invested. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 12/06/24 Full Review Teddy B Average Stephen King fare, I'd say to watch it, but the novel is a lot better. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/28/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Needful Things

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Movie Info

Synopsis When a creepy older man named Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) moves to a small town in Maine and sets up an antique shop, bad things soon follow. Gaunt has the remarkable ability of selling people exactly what they want most, but his ideal purchases come at a price that involves more than just money. Through Gaunt's manipulation, the citizens of the town gradually turn on one another, resulting in violence that Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) struggles to contain.
Director
Fraser C. Heston
Producer
Jack Cummins
Screenwriter
W.D. Richter
Production Co
New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$15.1M
Runtime
2h 0m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Dolby SR, SDDS, Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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