Leland Gaunt has come the whole way from Akron to Castle Rock to open an antique store called "Needful Things." Everything he sells gives you exactly what you want, but you need to pay him back with a favor. If that's not the most Stephen King sentence ever — minus 50's slang like daddy-o or references to comics and rock and roll — then I'm not sure what is.This 1993 movie was directed by the baby Moses. No, seriously, director Fraser C. Heston played that role alongside his father in The Ten Commandments.Anyways, Leland (Max von Sydow, who will forever be Ming from Flash Gordon) gets the townsfolk to play pranks on one another, like when Brian Rusk has to play one on Wilma Wadlowski Jerzyck (Valri Bromfield, former comedy partner of Dan Ackroyd and one of the first Second City stage members) for a Mickey Mantle card. Or how he helps Danforth Keeton pay off his gambling debts. From books that people have always dreamed of to helping continue the rivalry between a Catholic priest and a Baptist minister, Leland's objects get into the hands of nearly everyone in town.This brings everyone into conflict with one another, in particular, the battle between Nettie Cobb (Amanda Plummer, So I Married an Axe Murderer) and Wilma, which is so intense that they end up killing one another.Leland even cozies up to Sheriff Pangborn by giving his fiancée Polly (Bonnie Bedelia, Die Hard, Salem's Lot) a necklace that cures her arthritis. When Pangborn tries to warn Polly that Leland may not be what he seems, Gaunt ends up seducing her and reveals to her that the Sheriff has been stealing money from the town, so she breaks off their engagement. Read more at bandsaboutmovies.com

It's the small coastal town of Castle Rock. Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow) comes to open a store called Needful Things. He has some of the most evil Things to sell and he keeps a record of sales in his little book. Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) asks diner owner Polly Chalmers (Bonnie Bedelia) to marry him. Nettie Cobb (Amanda Plummer) is the waitress at the diner. Danforth Keeton III (J.T. Walsh) is the bullying businessman.This town is full of weirdly unlikeable characters. It doesn't seem to be where the movie should start with. It would be much better to have an idyllic town on the surface and the objects would bring out the ugliness. The town starts off ugly. Also the story seems set up for a serial TV show where each object can be its own episode. This movie has only one thing going for it and that's Max von Sydow. It's a movie about the villain more than any other character. That leaves the movie repeating the same tone over and over again. There isn't any surprises and there isn't any excitement. It's a very boring movie.

So what would the devil actually be like? Fire and brimstone, horns and a tail and a pitchfork? Or would he appear to be a quiet and reserved gentleman of class? Would he foment world-wide cataclysms or hatred between neighbors? The premise of this film is that the devil would tinker with people's minds and set individual against individual...just enough to cause local havoc...and then move on to another town or city.This film doesn't get high marks, but I rather like it better than many of the Stephen King books translated into a film. And perhaps the primary reason is some superb and restrained acting, starting with Max von Sydow as Leland Gaunt -- The Devil. Von Sydow plays the role with classic subtlety, and it really works. Ed Harris does reasonably well as the sheriff who has to deal with the pandemonium that ensues; his best scene is at the climax of the film. Bonnie Bedelia does satisfactorily as his romantic interest. Amanda Plummer steals practically every scene she's in as the shy and fragile Nettie Cobb. J. T. Walsh does nicely as the town blowhard.While not the best of Stephen King films, this is darned good, and in my view, vastly underestimated. Recommended.

This Stephen King adaption tells the story of Leland Gaunt (Von Sydow) an elderly man who happens to be the devil himself. He invades the small town of Castle Rock and opens a unique antique store called 'Needful Things'. Gaunt lures each town member into the store by displaying an item they can't refuse. Instead of money, Gaunt asks each person to play a practical joke of sorts on another person in the town. He cleverly makes the deed sound harmless, but makes sure clues are left behind that will point the finger of blame at the victim's arch enemy in town. The enemy retaliates and soon the entire town is tearing itself apart from within. The only person who seems to see gaunt for what he is, and avoids the temptation himself is town sheriff Alan Pangborn (Harris). He tries to convince the town that there is a devil among them. This is a very subtle tale of horror from Stephen King. Instead of using demons or possession to do his dirty work, the devil uses intellect to do his damage. It is played out in a very clever way and screen writer W.D. Richter certainly makes the script and film fun and amusing. However, there isn't much horror in this film outside of the scary idea of the devil pitting people against each other. Entertaining from start to finish, and all the amusing bits work, but the subtleties of the story and the lack of any true out in the open horror may turn off horror fans looking for gore and slit throats. Director Fraser Heston uses his talented cast well and the actors breathe life into the characters with Max Von Sydow making a great Leland Gaunt. Nice locations make the small town feel authentic. For those not looking for a gore show this horror film is for you.