Le Bazaar de l'épouvante

There's just nothing wrong with this movie, really. It's a rare case where critics absolutely blew it. It has a great plot idea, great actors and is generally entertaining as hell, even after having watched it four times or more.

Much of the criticism doesn't make any sense to me. Someone wrote that the town was ugly from the beginning. Well, otherwise it would be way less realistic. Gaunt used the ugly stuff that was already there to destroy the place and it's citizens, that's what Ed Harris' whole soliloquy at the end was all about. Some critics say it's unpleasant and depressing. I just don't see how. Don't watch any movies about say war then, if this is too dark or too ugly for you. What the hell. Personally i laughed a great deal. It's not a master piece by any means, but a good dark comedy. A fun little movie.

"Needful Things" is an adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. It is heavily judged by the fans of the book, but for us who didn't read it, this is a pretty good movie. Mysterious older gentleman moves to Castle Rock, King's fictional town in Maine that you can often encounter in his work, and opens some Kind of antique shop, where everyone can find what they desire the most. But the owner isn't interested as much in their money as he wants his customers to do some favors for him. These seemingly small favors, in mutual interaction, threaten to turn this peaceful town into the scene of the local apocalypse.

I can imagine that screenplay probably butchered the original material, but for us who didn't read it, this is quite decent and very imaginative story. There is a variety of interesting and quite well-developed characters, and cast and their performances are probably the strongest quality of this movie. Ed Harris is expectedly good in the role of the local sheriff that saves the day, and Max von Sydow is a perfect mysterious salesman. There's also Amanda Plummer, Honey Bunny from "Pulp Fiction", whose character is one of the most interesting ones and whose clash with Valri Bromfield is, in my opinion, the most powerful scene in the movie. In one of the main roles is Bruce Willis' wife from "Die Hard", sexy Bonnie Bedelia, as well as Duncan Fraser in the role of a priest. Directing and camera have several really good moments, effects are totally decent for their time, and also there are few quite nice slasher/gore scenes. Admittedly, the movie lacks some seriousness and suspense and overall atmosphere seems more like an adaptation of comic-book than a novel. For my taste, it's not a bad thing, although it's hard for me to consider it a horror movie. But to be honest, King essentially isn't a horror writer at all, King is a genre of its own.

7,5/10

I have never read the King novel 'Needful Things' and so can't compare it with this film one way or the other.

But this film, about a mysterious character who sets up a shop in which local residents find various treasures and are then tricked into perpetrating horrors against their neighbours, is entertaining and contains some good characters and marvelously black comedy. Though there are a few cheesy moments (like that ridiculous model which is supposed to represent a skinned dog), the film is still a winner. Max Von Sydow is good as the literally devilish owner of the Needful Things store and the climax is nicely-done.

Despite the fact that this film is based on yet another Stephen King novel, it is worth watching -- especially for the performance by Max von Sydow as the "old boy himself."

I watched the "director's cut" once on TV that had many scenes in it which were cut from the theatrical version. None of the restored scenes was especially good. It is interesting to note that practically every moment of Max von Sydow's performance is in both versions. He holds the screen with every sly look, every smooth utterance. He is a true joy to watch in this retelling of the Fause legend. It proves what a wonderful actor he is -- he has played Jesus (THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD), Ming the Merciless (FLASH GORDON), and many other parts. Playing the Devil allows him to chew the scenery in grand style.

I'm not a big Stephen King fan but the premise to this story is just great. It should make for a great film but for some reason the film disappoints. Not terribly but you feel like you should have gotten more.

Enter Max von Sydow. The man is an absolute pleasure to watch in any film he is in and no matter how long he appears in a given film it is better for his involvement. Without question one of the world's greatest actors of the twentieth century. This is obviously not his best role but he lends a wonderful Old World charm to this American story, his turn as the shopkeeper saves this movie from being low- quality and brings it up to a decent spooky story.

I have heard that the TBS version is much better as it feature more characterization (what I found to be the weakest part of the film) but I have not seen it. If anyone has any idea where to acquire it please leave a comment.