Thinner (1996)

Thinner (1996)
Written By: DMG
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff

Film Information

Director: Tom Holland
Producer: Mitchell Galin, Richard P. Rubinstein
Screenplay: Michael McDowell, Tom Holland
Novel: Thinner written by Stephen King
Date Released: October 25, 1996

Cast:
Robert John Burke as Billy Halleck
Joe Mantegna as Richie ‘The Hammer’ Ginelli
Lucinda Jenney as Heidi Halleck
Michael Constantine as Tadzu Lempke
Kari Wuhrer as Gina Lempke Romani
Bethany Joy Lenz as Linda Halleck
et. al.

Rating = 3/5 Graves

***May contain some spoilers***

Synopsis

Billy Halleck is a successful, overweight, attorney in a small town but has his cases manipulated frequently by the Judge and law enforcement. One night, Billy’s wife is being intimate with him while he drives. Distracted, Billy hits an old gypsy woman who is crossing the street and kills her upon impact. With the town wired to find in his favor, the judge rules that the incident was an accident. Later that day, Billy is approached by another gypsy who touches his face and says the word, “thinner.” From that point, Billy loses weight at an exceedingly fast and unhealthy rate. Believing it to be a curse, Billy must find the gypsy and try to reverse what has been done to him.

Gore Factor

There is no blood or gore in this film. However, the amount of food that is consumed is this film by the main character, Billy, can be described as grotesque to some. If you want to be dissuaded from eating, just watch this film. On another note, the special effect makeup when Billy becomes very sick and thin is impressive.

The Grave Review

Stephen King adaptations tend to be hit or miss. Thinner’s concept starts very well. Billy is an obese attorney who has an eating disorder. He is very successful but unfortunately puts his health second.  Unfortunately, as the story progresses,  the film becomes less interesting. As Billy realizes that he has a curse on him that was given by the gypsy man., he must find the gypsy to take it off. There is a long build up throughout the film trying to put an end to this curse but unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a real ending. At the end of the film, there are a few characters that simply disappear from the story line. For example, Billy’s client, Richie, and the granddaughter gypsy, Gina had significant roles in the film and then were never seen again. In this way, the conclusion of the film really prevented the film from creating a well-rounded story.

Thinner is not a bad film as the concept is sound. But, not much seems to happen in the film. The acting was respectable and the prosthetic makeup was also commendable.  Although, if you need some encouragement to lose weight yourself, watch this film. You will feel bad about that burger you may have recently consumed. Maybe you can still eat 12,000 daily calories and still lose weight. Whatever the case, check out Thinner and let us know what you think.

For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Thinner (1996) three graves out of five graves.

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