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Needful Things

R 1993 2h 0m Horror List
32% Tomatometer 28 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

View All (28) Critics Reviews
Clifford Terry Chicago Tribune This is pulp moviemaking at its worst. Rated: 1/4 Oct 4, 2019 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Matthew P Totally underrated. I don't care what critics say about anything. For whatever reason. This movie didn't get much traction when it was released. Unfortunately it also didn't get any word of mouth credit. Such as Shawshank Redemption. An equally brilliant movie by Stephen. A simplistically quaint movie. With a great cast and many memorable quotes throughout. I think after all these years I'll read the book. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/05/24 Full Review Beatingu83 L Was a very good adaptation of the book. Good story. Entertaining. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/27/24 Full Review Sean M Needful Things is a fantastic book that has a lot of depth and complexity to it. There are lots of parts in the book where I LOL’d. Dialog and pacing are great. One of the things that also makes the book so great is the build up to the grand finale. Sadly, I don’t think a decent adaptation is possible for this book. The 1993 film is very cheesy and the acting is awful except for Sydow as Gaunt. He’s the best part. They deviate too much from the book and leave out nearly half the characters (they even leave Ace out and he’s a huge part of the story). There’s no build up at all. Alan doesn’t meet Gaunt til the end in the book. Why does Polly live in a diner? Why does Wilma live on a turkey farm lol? Brian throws apples instead of rocks lol? Why is Gaunt’s store in a house and not a regular storefront? There’s also no mention of Gaunt being a demon, which is what made the book somewhat spooky. This film is so watered down and shallow that it’s best to just read the book and not watch this. Hard pass! Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 04/28/24 Full Review Dallas H The original novel on which the movie is based would be one of my favorite Stephen King stories. It is a tremendously long story, nearly a thousand pages, depending on which publication you pick up. It is a sure thing the movie will be trimming the story down a bit if it is to fit within a two-hour time frame. With that said, I like this movie adaptation quite a bit. The filmmakers have incorporated several of the main story points from the book into the movie. But it still feels a little bit like an abridged version. I still get a kick out of watching it—such an enjoyable story filled with drama and chaos. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Great cast, good execution. One of the better Stephen King films. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/29/23 Full Review Russell H Close to the book and Ed Harris is great. Some good characters Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/03/23 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
Castle Rock Entertainment, New Line Cinema
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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