
Probably because he’s played by Max Von Sydow, and you only have to take one look at that guy to know he’s a bad-ass. Sheriff Alan Pangborn rarely encounters trouble in his small, peaceful town, until new shopkeep named Leland Gaunt arrives with a store full of curiosities called “Needful Things.”įrom the moment he arrives, you KNOW he’s trouble. Things is set in the fictional Maine town of King’s popular supernatural spot Castle Rock, where things are going as good as they can when you have a complete idiot running it.

Needful Things is one of the Stephen King books that I’ve read more than a few times, so I was prepared to hate the 1993 film adaptation … but it’s one of the adaptations that actually holds up - amazing, considering it follows the novel pretty faithfully, and it’s directed by Charlton Heston’s son, Fraser Clarke, who doesn’t have the greatest track record.
