Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Leofwine_draca I remember Stephen King's book NEEDFUL THINGS being one of the most brutal things the author had written up to that point, which is perhaps why this film adaptation feels so lacklustre by comparison. NEEDFUL THINGS has a slightly cheesy, TV movie feel to it, which robs the production of the genuine horror found within King's book.It's not all bad, and there's certainly plenty of mileage in the storyline. The story about the antiques store opening in a small town and proceeding to send an evil influence through the dark streets was previously done better in the very similar SALEM'S LOT, although the use of the 'favours' is a novel touch here and the tit-for-tat pranking remains entertaining.I think the problem is that films from the 1990s tend to have dated a lot more than similar fare from the 1970s or '80s, which is the problem with NEEDFUL THINGS: it looks and feels dated. Some of the acting is histrionic (I like J. T. Walsh but he really needed to rein it in) and the direction (by Charlton Heston's son) is below par too. It's a pity, because there are some decent actors in this (Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia) and Max Von Sydow is a delightfully urbane presence playing Leland Gaunt.

Krzysztof Fiszer When I started to watch 'Needful Things' my thoughts were quite negative. I always have problems with Stephen King's novels, because their endings are often poor. The same thing happened with 'Needful Things' - the whole book was excellent, but the final encounter - in my opinion - was silly and quite stupid. So when I was watching this movie I was sure they won't be able to capture the essence of this story in only two hours, but they did. And in my opinion, they did it very well. They kept almost all of the characters, that bought something in Leland Gaunt's shop - and they chose the good ones. It was very good move for the plot, if they would put every customer it would be too much to follow. The customer's visions were very well captured. The final encounter is different than in the novel, but it's definitely better and simpler with good taste. The sound and camera work is great in whole movie. Music is wonderful and has great dark devilish accent. The casting people made very good job. The actors are perfect for their parts. Max von Sydow made excellent performance as main dark character and captured it's essence with real grace.For me this movie is very good adaptation of King's novel, probably the best one I will ever seen.

pabald9480 I finally read the book a few years ago-rather quickly for me) Oddly enough, I still like the movie as well. Why? Because in regards to book adaptations, movies or TV series) I do something most viewers don't: take them on their own merits. This was one of my first SK movies, I watched the much longer and better version on TNT first, very discouraged that only the theatrical version is available, why I'm not sure, because it needs to be! I've seen several devilish depictions in movies, most of them fairly good, Max VonSydow as Leland Gaunt was very good, starting off as subtly creepy and before long, his evil plans become more clear in horrific and destructive ways, to say the least. But Max isn't the only actor that makes this film work: Bonnie Bedelia and Ed Harris do a very nice job as well. The music by Patrick Doyle from the opening credits to the final battle was a very good piece: I also liked the scene after the church explosion where Alan/ Ed Harris looks outside seeing Mr Gaunt sitting calmly on his shop bench, with an evil smile on his face and smoking a cigarette, clearly admiring his handiwork, his look almost says: come and get me Sheriff, if you dare! The music for this scene was very good, almost indicating a massive confrontation about to begin) The movie, though, sadly, only scratches the surface: a lot more of the town is completely destroyed in the book. The TV version also adds a lot of scenes that don't make the script boring, it makes it more interesting, at least for me!

Maz Murdoch (asda-man) "Needful Things" is by no means a bad film, but neither is it an amazing film, it certainly feels like it has a great story (like all Stephen king stories) it's original and engaging, but something is missing and I can sort of put my finger on it.So "Needful things" has a really interesting plot, an old man comes into the town and seems to know everything about everyone (you need to have a really open mind when you find out why!) He sells what people most desire but in return they must do something bad! At first it seems innocent enough, like chucking mud at someones washing, but it quickly turns into something much more sinister and quite cleverly satisfying.Max Von Sydow is also really good as the shopkeeper, he's got a sweet old man exterior but then turns into a completely evil human being! He plays the character memorably and also makes him quite likable, just because of his childish mischief-making.The score is also really good! It's really dramatic and over the top which sets the right tone for the film. Music is used brilliantly and sometimes humorously throughout as well. All in all it is an entertaining film and certainly isn't boring. But then what is wrong? I think the feel of the film isn't quite fitting. It looks like a TV movie and the directing isn't that spectacular enough to live up to the spectacular storyline. The cinematography is also kind of messy. With the right director and perhaps a bigger budget this film could be a memorable classic! Unfortunately it's not and this lets it down big time.Don't avoid this film, if you get the chance to see it then see it! But, prepare yourself for a ridiculous yet entertaining storyline with some decent acting (Max!). But, it might leave you feeling empty and wanting perhaps some meatier directing. Nice idea, not so nice execution.