Thinner (1996)

When a successful lawyer from Maine (Robert John Burke) accidentally killed a old gypsy woman. Then her much older father (Micheal Constantine) puts a curse on him by losing weight instantly but also dying slowly from the inside. He can't losing weight until the curse is broken.

Directed by Tom Holland (Child's Play, Fright Night, The Langoliers) made a terrific thriller. This has excellent make-up effects by two time Oscar-winner Greg Cannon (Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Lost Boys, White Chicks). Burke pulls off an amazing performance in this. This was not see by many people, which this is a underrated film. This is a cult classic to be sure. Based on a novel by Richard Bachman (The Running Man), which is actually Stephen King.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an strong-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has an behind the scenes feautrette and an entertaining commentary track by the director and actor:Joe Mantegna (Who has an supporting role as a gangster). This is a fascinating horror film is loaded with dark humor. Written by the director and Micheal Mc Dowell (Bettlejuice). (**** ½/*****).

Fmovies: If you're a big fan of Stephen King and want to see a film that stays true to the book, then this one will please. Thinner is the story of an obese lawyer, Billy Halleck, who kills a gypsy woman with his car. When the local judge and sheriff cover up the accident and let Billy off the hook, a gypsy curse is put on all of them.

One of the big things about this film that gave it it's publicity (besides Stephen King's name) was in the costume work done on Billy Halleck's weight-loss transformation. I think, given how daunting a task this was, that a good job was done. I did notice they forgot to augment his fingers to compensate with his body mass.

"Thinner" is delivered with what might be described as (forgive me) a second or third-string acting class - actors who deliver good roles but aren't chart toppers or as well known (Joe Mantegna, Kari Wuhrer, etc.). King's story teeters a bit when Billy and the gypsies begin playing a game of tit for tat. And the ending, although poetic with its Edgar Allan Poe touch, comes off as "oh brother!" 5/10

From what I've heard, this is a fairly faithful adaption of the Stephen King story of the same name, but I've never read the book myself. The plot is decent, but somewhat ridiculous... and the pacing is awful. I was bored for most of the other half of this movie, despite it only being about 90 minutes long. The acting varies, but it's mostly bad... Kari Wuhrer displays a particularly obvious lack of talent, and Robert John Burke proves that he doesn't have the charisma or talent to carry a movie. Actually, Joe Mantegna pretty much steals the show, and every scene that doesn't involve him has you bored and wanting to see him again. The humor in the film is actually surprisingly good. There are some pretty good exchanges of dialog, and, as a nice variation from the typical King film-adaption, most of the laughs are intentional(though there are a few parts which still seem lame and make you laugh, as opposed to seeming scary and frighten you). The special effects vary, but for the most part, they are quite good. The films gore and violence may be a little over the top, and is definitely extreme, though there isn't terribly much of it in the film(but when there is, it's very graphic), but it didn't bother me as much as I had expected, from hearing it described by someone who has seen the film. Since I haven't really seen any other films by the director, Tom Holland, I can't say if fans of him will like this film. One thing that the fans of King will surely enjoy is that he himself has a role in this, and a pretty easily recognizable one, at that(not the typical somewhere-in-the-immediate-background cameo that writers/directors typically have). All in all, fairly enjoyable horror, but not something that you'll want to see many times. I recommend it to big fans of Stephen King, huge fans of the various actors, and people who just enjoy watching somewhat uneven films just for the heck of it. 5/10

Thinner fmovies. This engaging adaptation of the novel, which Stephen King wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym, stars the under rated Robert John Burke as Billy Halleck. Billy is a lawyer in Maine who happens to be grossly overweight. After he accidentally runs down an elderly Gypsy woman, his judge (John Horton) and cop (Daniel von Bargen) friends conspire to help Billy avoid any punishment. This infuriates the old womans' even more ancient father (Michael Constantine, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"), who places one of those old fashioned Gypsy curses on Billy. Stroking Billy's cheek, he utters one word: "Thinner". Soon, Billy is rapidly losing weight, which he enjoys at first, until he realizes that he really is going to waste away to nothing unless something is done.

Just personally speaking, this viewer has a blast with this particular King story. Yes, it's unrelentingly downbeat, but he didn't mind that so much. And it's true: other than Billy's daughter Linda (Bethany Joy Lenz), there isn't a single character in the story who's remotely sympathetic. Still, this viewer found it refreshing that so many people here turn out to be such a-holes. It's a highly entertaining tale, well told by co-screenwriter and director Tom Holland ("Fright Night", "Child's Play"). And it's fortunately not completely without a sense of humor, although the humor tends towards the dark.

There's wonderful music by Daniel Licht, but the real marvel of the movie is the astonishing, convincing makeup effects (supervised by Oscar winner Greg Cannom) that transform the thin Burke into an obese man. There's also a gem of a supporting performance by the always entertaining Joe Mantegna as a mafia man whom Billy had successfully defended in court. Therefore, the mobster feels indebted to the lawyer, and is more than willing to help Billy in his quest to convince the ancient Gypsy to remove the curse. The supporting cast is solid right down the line, with Lucinda Jenney as Billy's possibly unfaithful wife (the script tries to leave this aspect as ambiguous as possible), Sam Freed as a doctor friend, the intoxicatingly sexy Kari Wuhrer as Constantines' great granddaughter, Elizabeth Franz in a bravura turn as Hortons' wife, and Peter Maloney as an information provider. Director Hollands' son Josh plays Frank Spurton; King has his usual cameo (playing a pharmacist). What is a real laugh is the fact that actress Irma St. Paule, as the accident victim, actually looks OLDER than Constantine!

Good gloomy fun, but it won't be to all "tastes", especially the ending.

Eight out of 10.

I saw this movie on TV a few years back. I'd read the book before seeing the movie, and I've read the book a second time recently, after seeing the movie. And I think I can safely say that 'Thinner' is a decent attempt, but doesn't live up to the book.

The movie is based on Stephen King's 'Thinner'. It is based around an obese small-town lawyer, Billy Halleck (Robert Burke), who has a curse put on him by a gypsy (Michael Constantine), after running over his daughter with his car. Halleck leaves his wife (Lucinda Jenny) and daughter (Joie Lenz), to find the gypsy and get the curse that is steadily making him thin reversed, before it is too late.

Like another reviewer said, this movie seems really TV movie-ish. The only actor I recognize in this movie is the typecasted Joe Mantegna. The rest I've never heard of before or since this movie. For the most part the movie is faithful to the book. But, it lacks much of the vivid detail of the book. Also, the main character is far more tame in the movie. Though, as I said, most of the actors I've never heard of before or since, they do a very good job in this movie. After seeing the movie, I can't picture anyone else playing the roles they did. And the make-up effects are amazing.

Overall, a decent movie. Could've better captured the spirit of the book. You could find a worse way to spend two hours.

Rating: 7/10

Anyone who can seriously watch this movie and not take it as a more than just a fun horror romp is reading too much into the name of KING.

Stephen KING has a sense of humor, folks. Otherwise, he wouldn't have concocted such a nutty yarn as this! If you take him absolutely seriously, then you miss a wonderful part of him. Probably the part that I most admire, in secret.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this. The story was fun, the story realistic enough for me. The make-up was fun to look at. The weight loss, the diseases, the violence...it was all so comical, as it SHOULD BE! As a genre, horror is a laugh for me. I haven't been scared or frightened by a movie since "THE SHINING". And of course that was directed by an outright MASTER of the cinema (Kubrick).

So, sit back and think you are watching a light-horror movie...and I promise you it will be fun!