Rick and Morty has parodied horror movies, too.
But, as great as Rick and Morty’s movie references are, it’s rare that they sur the movies themselves. Rick and Morty’s Mad Max: Fury Road episode is a fun homage, but it’s not a better post-apocalyptic actioner than George Miller’s cinematic masterpiece. Morty’s adventure with the Vindicators is a fun send-up of Marvel movies, but it’s not a superhero romp on par with Guardians of the Galaxy or Avengers: Infinity War. However, there is one Rick and Morty movie parody from all the way back in its first season that left the original in its dust.
Rick & Morty's Needful Things Spoof Has More Depth & Tension Than The Official Movie Adaptation
"Something Ricked This Way Comes" Is The Best Adaptation Of Needful Things
In season 1, episode 9, “Something Ricked This Way Comes,” Rick and Morty spoofed Needful Things. In Needful Things, a mysterious man named Leland Gaunt opens up an antique store that sells curious supernatural antiquities that grant amazing personal favors to their s — like a pendant that eases pain or a toy that predicts the results of sporting events — but come at an ironic cost. In the Rick and Morty episode, Summer takes a part-time job at a similar store run by the unsubtly named Mr. Needful.
“Something Ricked This Way Comes,” on the other hand, genuinely escalates the stakes with a conflict between Summer, as Mr. Needful’s employee, and Rick, as his good-samaritan competitor, and it digs deeper into the be-careful-what-you-wish-for philosophy.
Rick and Morty’s parody of Needful Things is a much better version of King’s story than its own 1993 movie adaptation. The movie has great performances and a satisfying ending, but it’s an extremely dull viewing experience for the most part. Director Fraser C. Heston fails to build any tension or expand on the one-note premise. “Something Ricked This Way Comes,” on the other hand, genuinely escalates the stakes with a conflict between Summer, as Mr. Needful’s employee, and Rick, as his good-samaritan competitor, and it digs deeper into the be-careful-what-you-wish-for philosophy.
Rick & Morty Should Do More Stephen King Parodies
Imagine A Rick & Morty Version Of Christine Or The Running Man
Rick and Morty should do more parodies of King’s novels. It would be great to see a Rick and Morty version of The Dead Zone where Morty gains the uncanny ability to see how people will die just from touching them. It would be great to see a Rick and Morty version of Christine where Jerry buys a murderous car that exacts revenge against his bullies. Imagine a Firestarter spoof with the government hunting a superhuman Summer or a Running Man spoof with Space Beth taking part in a deadly futuristic game show. Rick and Morty has an untapped goldmine.
Rick and Morty
- Release Date
- December 2, 2013
- Network
- Adult Swim
- Showrunner
- Dan Harmon
Cast
Summer Smith (voice)
Justin RoilandRick Sanchez / Morty Smith
WHERE TO WATCH
Rick and Morty is an animated science fiction series that follows the eccentric scientist Rick Sanchez and his impressionable grandson Morty Smith as they embark on perilous adventures across space and alternate dimensions. The show explores the impact of these exploits on Morty's tumultuous family life and personal challenges.
- Creator(s)
- Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon
- Seasons
- 8
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
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