Themes: Mysterious Strangers, Small-Town Life, Deal With the Devil
Main Cast: Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, Amanda Plummer, J.T. Walsh
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Satan opens an antique shop in a small town and lures the residents into evil actions in this supernatural chiller. Based on a novel by the prolific Stephen King, the film bears many of the author's trademarks, such as the New England setting and the focus on regular people tempted by the forces of supernatural evil. Here, the enticements toward bad behavior comes from the "Needful Things" shop, owned by new resident Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow). Gaunt's shop offers an odd collection of goods, each of which happens to be the object of desire of a local resident. Instead of money, however, Gaunt demands that townspeople perform a series of simple pranks. He has a plan, and these actions escalate until the town is at violent war with itself. The residents are brought to life by a talented cast, led by von Sydow's suave devil and including Ed Harris as the local sheriff, J.T. Walsh as a corrupt politician, and Amanda Plummer as a seemingly innocent baker. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
Ray McKinnon - Deputy Norris Ridgewick; Duncan Fraser - Hugh Priest; Valri Bromfield - Wilma Jerzyk; Shane Meier - Brian Rusk; Melvin Allen - Baseball Announcer; Gillian Barber - Myrtle Keeton; Lisa Blount - Cora Rusk; Robert Easton - Lester Pratt; D.J. Jackson - Eddie Warburton; Tamsin Kelsey - Sheila Ratcliff; Campbell Lane - Frank Jewett; Deborah Wakeham - Myra; Don S. Davis - Reverend Rose; Gary Paller - George Cobb; Bill Croft - Andy Clutterbuck; Frank C. Turner - Pete Jerzyk; Sarah Sawatsky - 14 Year Old Girl; Eric Schneider - Henry Beaufort; Stuart Aikins; Barbara Cohen; Mary Gail Artz; William Morgan Sheppard - Father Meehan; Lochlyn Munro - John LaPointe
Credit
Sheila Haley - Art Director, Gordon Mark - Associate Producer, Stuart Aikins - Casting, Mary Gail Artz - Casting, Barbara Cohen - Casting, Monique Prudhomme - Costume Designer, Anthony Brand - First Assistant Director, Fraser C. Heston - Director, Rob Kobrin - Editor, Peter Yates - Executive Producer, Patrick Doyle - Composer (Music Score), Eric Batut - Musical Direction/Supervision, Sandy Cooper - Makeup, Douglas Higgins - Production Designer, Tony Westman - Cinematographer, Jack Cummins - Producer, Dominique Fauquet-Lemaitre - Set Designer, Gary Paller - Special Effects, Gordon Mark - Unit Production Manager, W.D. Richter - Screenwriter, Lawrence Cohen - Screenwriter, Richard L. Anderson - Supervising Sound Editor, Stephen King - Book Author
A mysterious proprietor named Leland Gaunt, claiming to be from Akron, Ohio,[1] opens a new antiques store called 'Needful Things' in the small town of Castle Rock, Maine. The store sells various items of great personal worth to the residents (some of which, like a pendant that eases pain or a toy which predicts the outcome of horse races, are clearly supernatural), and Gaunt demands payment both in cash and in small "favors," usually pranks played by his customers on their neighbors. Gaunt seems to have an innate knowledge of the townspeople and their history, and the pranks exploit their previous rivalries and prejudices, causing them to attack each other.
When the normally peaceful townsfolk begin to commit acts of violence and murder, Sheriff Alan Pangborn investigates Gaunt and becomes convinced his machinations are the source of the unrest. Meanwhile, Gaunt is revealed to be a devil, traveling from place to place manipulating people into destroying themselves. Acting primarily through a corrupted car salesman and gambler named Danforth Keeton, Gaunt succeeds in sparking a riot in the town square.
Pangborn manages to stop the violence before the town destroys itself and the townspeople admit their pranks, exposing Gaunt's web of manipulation. Keeton, despondent at the death of his wife earlier in the film, blows up Needful Things with Gaunt inside. Defeated, Gaunt emerges from the burning wreckage of his store, predicts he will encounter Pangborn's grandson Bob in 2053, and departs, presumably to continue his work.
