Needful Things (1993)

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:

Title Appears In Writing | Stephen King | Attempted Child Suicide | Antique Shop | Prank

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

Filming Locations:

Gibsons Landing, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

'Buster' Keeton kills his wife with an Estwing framing hammer, easily noticed with its all-metal, one-piece construction.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During a flashback sequence that takes place in 1955, teenagers are driving around in a convertible as Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls Of Fire" blares from the car radio. Lewis recorded, and released the song in 1956, one year after the events depicted in this scene take place.

Quotes:

Father Meehan: You tell Rose that if he tries to bump us, he'll find out just how hard we mackeral snappers can bump back!

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

My Favourite Things

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)!

Me like this film. Me laugh, me somewhat moved, me not quite cry... Me a little scared. International actor Max Von Sydow is given a chance to ham it up (as few others of his professional category qualify) as "The Devil"... or his younger cousin, at best. As already indicated elsewhere on IMDb, there was a TNT (?) cable version (something like a total of three, or four hours...not including commercials).

The story (based on Stephen King's novel) has less roots in the Faust legend, than it does in the grand, American groundbreaking novel "Peyton Place" (author Grace Metalius' once-taboo and scandalous book about provincial hypocrisy and antiquated, stifling mores). King's plot is the goblin's version of this aforementioned soap-operatic melodrama: "Polly Chalmers" is a chronic version of "Peyton Place's" Constance McKenzie, "Nettie" is inspired by Peyton's "Nellie," and "Sheriff Alan Pangborn" (played by Ed Harris) is Peyton's high-school principal.

Leland Gaunt (Sydow) is the mysterious proprietor of a store that caters to customers whose lives are devoid of any of life's more positive and personal fulfillments. Be careful what you 'wish for,' because the devil is liable to give you your due. The film's able cast includes Amanda Plummer (as the nervous "Nettie"), the late J.T. Walsh (as the compulsive gambler) and Bonnie Bedelia (seen previously in Tobe Hooper's two-part telefilm "Salem's Lot," based on another King novel).