Hello everyone, welcome to the Stephen King cast, One Man's Musings on the Works of Stephen King.

Each week I will review one entry in the bibliography of Stephen King and the chronological order of publication.

And this week, I'm examining the 1993 adaptation of King's final Castle Rock story Needful Things.

The movie, starring Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, and Max von Seedow,

currently holds a 6.2 rating out of 10 on IMDB, and a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It's not a well-received adaptation, despite a strong cast that also includes J.T. Walsh's

Buster Danforth Keaton and Amanda Plummer as Nettie.

Now, I remember seeing this movie in the theaters when it came out because I was an avid Stephen

King fan at that point, and this was the first Stephen King movie that was coming out after I had read

the book, a book that I had loved, so this will always hold a special place in my

heart for that.

Because the movie, in my experience of reading the book, came so close together, so much

of the movie's imagery has seeped into my understanding of the book itself.

For instance, Leeland Gaunt.

Even just recently, when I reread the novel, I couldn't help but picture Max von Seedau

in this role.

And Ed Harris is in many ways how I picture Alan Pangborn.

Ray McKinnon, who played Charles Campion in the stand, alongside Ed Harris, who played General

Stark, is exactly how I pictured Norris Ridgwick as well.

And the late J.T. Walsh, despite never reaching the same cartoonish levels of buffoonery when it came to Buster,

has seared himself into my brain.

So, needful things will always be something that I remember fondly.

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