Needful Things

"Buy now. Pay later."

1993 2h 1m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🥫

33%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 636🥫33%Rotten Tomatoes●43Metacritic★6.3IMDB · 29,742

DramaHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A mysterious new shop opens in a small town which always seems to stock the deepest desires of each shopper, with a price far heavier than expected.

“Buy now. Pay later.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Max von Sydow
Leland Gaunt
Ed Harris
Sheriff Alan Pangborn
Bonnie Bedelia
Polly Chalmers
J.T. Walsh
Danforth Keeton III
Valri Bromfield
Wilma Jerzyk
Ray McKinnon
Deputy Norris Ridgewick
Lisa Blount
Cora Rusk
Shane Meier
Brian Rusk

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Fraser Clarke Heston
Writers: W.D. Richter, Chris Bartleman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Fraser Clarke Heston, shot by Tony Westman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Patrick Doyle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Rob Kobrin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Max von Sydow and Ed Harris and Bonnie Bedelia carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Buy now. Pay later.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0107665 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Fraser Clarke Heston directs. Tony Westman behind the camera. Patrick Doyle scores. Rob Kobrin cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

133 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Fraser Clarke Heston, shot by Tony Westman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Patrick Doyle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Rob Kobrin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Max von Sydow and Ed Harris and Bonnie Bedelia carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Buy now. Pay later.".
7IMDB entry: tt0107665 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 11 themes, including "small town", "sheriff", "based on novel or book", "pain".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tony Westman
Original score: Patrick Doyle
Editing: Rob Kobrin
Production design: Douglas Higgins
Costume design: Monique Prudhomme
Makeup / hair: Sandy Cooper
Sound: John T. Reitz
Stunt coordinator: Bill Ferguson
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Status: Released
Box office: $15,185,672
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Needful Things (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes: 33% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 43/100
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 29,742 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 win & 7 nominations total

Also by

Fraser Clarke Heston

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-03-15
★ 6/10
The young carpenter from Nazareth? I know him well. Promising young man. He died badly. 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
Wuchak2022-05-28
★ 6/10
What if the devil literally came to town? What would happen if satan actually visited an American town, albeit undercover? In this case it's a small New England coastal village (shot in British Columbia). Ed Harris plays the main protagonist while Bonnie Bedelia appears as his girlfriend, and Max Von Sydow is on hand as the mysterious shopkeeper who moves into town and causes havoc by selling the villagers their most deepest desires for the price of a "deed." So, what would happen if the devil came to town? Would he make it a heathen paradise? A fun, hedonistic haven? Not bloody likely. Like all Stephen King films based on his books, "Needful Things" (1993) takes place in a small town and has a comic book air. It borrows the concept used in "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (1983) and makes a more compelling flick. Since the movie utilizes biblical themes I'll consider it from that perspective for the sake of reviewing. According to the bible, the blessing of the Lord produces the qualities of the Garden of Eden, that is, paradise, which is why it says that the kingdom of heaven is a matter of righteousness, peace, joy and power. By contrast, the devil's kingdom produces un-righteousness, strife, war, anxiety, depression, misery, bondage and helplessness. The fictional town of Castle Rock was a veritable haven before Leland Gaunt (Sydow) moved to town. Sure, there were the typical petty dislikes and rivalries, etc. but, generally speaking, it was a nice place to live, a small coastal paradise, which is what motivated Ed Harris' character to live there. Of course, Gaunt is intent on changing all this. I just find it interesting the way the new shopkeeper slowly turns the town into a literal living hell. He utilizes the people's petty dislikes, paranoias and jealousies against them. "Needful Things" may not be great and it's definitely not scary, but it's effective in a theological sense as a creepy satanic take-over through simple manipulation of human nature. The theatrical version runs 2 hours and the TV version 3 hours. I've never seen the latter, but I'm sure it's the better version in that it further fleshes out the characters. GRADE: B-
GenerationofSwine2023-01-11
★ 3/10
Well.... it has a really good cast, I have to give it that. Max Von Sidow SHOULD have been an Oscar favorite and Ed Harris is always watchable. ... but this is a King adaptation and, IDK, maybe it's because like so many others I read the book first... ... but this stinks. It's higher budget than some of the adaptations of his book, but doe the most part it just falls short time and again. Maybe it would have worked as a miniseries, but as a movie... stay away.