Out of the blue, the book (and movie) by Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes popped into my head. Then I got to thinking that it was a lot like Stephen King's Needful Things. So let's briefly discuss the premise of the books/movies:
1. Something Wicked This Way Comes : The story of a traveling carnival run by Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce in the movie). The carnival seems normal at first until you see the rides and "tricks" that are there including a carousel that, depending on what direction it revolves, reverses or advances your age. Wishes based on vanity and greed are granted, but they come with a price, and Mr. Dark is planning on taking as many souls as he can.
2. Needful Things : The story of a peculiar man that rides into a coastal town (as most King novels are) who seems to know exactly what each soured townsperson wants and desires. However, in order to obtain those wants and desires, the people are coerced by the peculiar man ("Lelang Gaunt" aka....Satan) to do things in order to get what they want (i.e. a boy breaking a window in a home that gets blamed on someone else who then seeks revenge on another person). It evolves into a town's chain reaction fueled by greed.
I had never thought about the similarity between the two works. I think I'll be reading and watching both again and making comparisons.
1 comment:
I noticed the similarities as I read King's novel. Many of King's novels and shorts are derivitive of other books. 'Salems Lot is one of the most blatant; a modern day Dracula.
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