stephen king is a prolific and sometimes gifted writer , but his track record with the movies is spotty . every now and then , we get an original vision or an offbeat story to begin with , and the result is really memorable : the shining , the dead zone , stand by me , the shawshank redemption were all strong and enjoyable . the rest of them have been by-the-numbers piffle , like this one . what's wrong with this movie ? it was lifted more or less intact from his novel of the same name , and i think that's the source of the problem . many of his novels have become windy , overcooked exhalations to no clear purpose . once you get your mind around the basic conceit of the story , the rest is just a taxi ride . needful things fits squarely into that category . as a movie , it's even more insufferable and dessicated than the book it was taken from . the story opens up in castle rock , another of king's fictional maine towns that looks peaceful on the outside but you just know is brimming with repressed horror . ooo . one day a store that vaguely resembles an antique store , named " needful things " , opens shop . the proprietor is played by max von sydow , who is probably the best thing in the movie , since he is always enjoyable as someone of diabolical intent . i'm half expecting a movie biography of anton szandor lavey with him starring in it , and come to think of it , that would be far more interesting than anything that happens here . never mind . the store has in its collection of bric-a-brac various items for which all the members of the town all harbor the deepest desires . the proprietor sells them , but he is of course charging the highest possible price for them : your soul . there are other developments , too , which involve the townspeople stabbing each other in the back to curry favor with satan . the only person who holds out against the big sellout is ed harris , playing a police chief with an ugly past , but soon everyone else in town has succumbed and it isn't long before the whole place is going up in flames . god , i'm so sick of a movie's third act where they " solve " everything by blowing it up . it didn't work in zabriskie point , so why should it work now ? there's not much variety in the movie , either ; it's all horribly monochromatic and repetitive . satan arrives , sets up shop , people fall all over each other selling out to the devil , mayhem ensues , movie eventually terminates on a sarcastic note . when i think about how much money and time and care goes into making any movie , and i see something like this , my heart dies a little . 
