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.
Where to Watch Needful Things
- Patrick WaiFebruary 21, 2026Needful Things feels like Stephen King decided to run a yard sale in Creepy New England and invited Satan to be the cashier. Max von Sydow is delightfully sinister as Leland Gaunt, selling cursed knickknacks with the calm politeness of a man who definitely offers gift receipts for your eternal damnation, while Ed Harris brings his usual steady gravitas as the only adult in a town apparently powered by poor impulse control. Amanda Plummer is especially memorable, going full emotional thermonuclear in a performance that’s equal parts tragic and terrifying, while everyone else mostly just lines up to ruin their lives on schedule. The whole thing has that cozy, slightly cheap late-80s/early-90s King adaptation vibe—predictable, but never boring—as the quaint Salem’s Lot-looking town gradually implodes over baseball cards and petty grudges. The ending, unfortunately, backs away from the delicious nastiness with a soft-focus kumbaya resolution, but getting there is still a fun reminder that in Stephen King’s world, the scariest thing isn’t the devil—it’s your neighbors.
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Needful Things was released on August 27, 1993.
Needful Things was directed by Fraser Clarke Heston.
Needful Things has a runtime of 2h 1m.
Needful Things was produced by Jack Cummins.
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.
The key characters in Needful Things are Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow), Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris), Polly Chalmers (Bonnie Bedelia).
Needful Things is rated R.
Needful Things is a Horror, Drama, Thriller film.
Needful Things has an audience rating of 4.4 out of 10.
Needful Things has made $15.2M at the box office.