Billy Halleck is a large man with large appetites. A successful lawyer with a great wife and loving daughter, but one moment of carelessness changes all of that. After accidentally killing a vagabond gypsy’s daughter, Billy is cleared of all charges, thanks to a little help from his friends the sheriff and judge. Billy's crime does not go unpunished as the old gypsy man Tadzu Lempke, curses Billy with one word, thinner.

Based on the story by Stephen King, Thinner is a fairly creepy tale and an above average B grade horror flick. The film is directed by long time horror vet Tom Holland (Fright Night 1 and 2, to name a few) and plays out fairly well in his experienced hands.

The story is straightforward, after being cursed, the ample framed Billy, about 350 pounds, begins to lose three pounds a day. The weight loss is convincing, although the fat suit at the beginning is kinda fake. As Billy gets more skeletal, Robert Burke, the actor that plays Billy, truly looks like hell warmed over. The judge and sheriff also get cursed but we get to see little of that, but both are quite nasty. Burke should have went DeNiro and gained about 200 pounds then lost it as the film went on, but I guess he wasn't dedicated enough.

The film is full of betrayal and deceit and is basically made to make us atone for all of our actions. Joe Mantegna and Stephen King are also in the film and Kari Wurher plays Tadzu's grand daughter and treats us all to an incredible panty shot.

Not an exceptional film, but probably one of the best King book to movie translations.

5/10

I am of the opinion Thinner gets overlooked quite a bit because - in a day and age where horror films seem to be directed at an audience with the mean age of 15 - Thinner is a straight forward adult horror tale, with adult themes and an adult resolution. There's not a great deal of "fun"to be had here. But there IS a heavy dose of true horror.

I agree with Prime that the early fat suit wasn't necessarily the most convincing. However, Robert John Burke's transformation to skeletal wraith was chillingly accurate. It didn't hurt that (before I saw this film) I read an interview with director Tom Holland wherein he stated he had studied images of cancer and AIDS patients, then went to F/X maestro Greg Cannom with what he was going for.

This IS a genuinely creepy film, one which concerns itself not with undead slashers or possessions or a horde of obviously CGI monsters terorrizing a community. Instead, Thinner is a simple, almost quiet yarn about a self involved man who bites off more than he can chew when he invokes the wrath of a band of traveling gypsies (none more terrifying than their leader Tadzu Lempke, played with eerie malice by Michael Constantine).

That "old black magic that they weave so well" is a one way ticket to Hell in this film, and watching the hero/anti-hero Billy Halleck first lose his physical being and then his mind was a truly unsettling experience.

This film eventually presents our flawed protagonist with a shot at redemption..and the price he must pay in the final moments may be his own humanity.

Thinner is one of those rare horror films which not only delivers the goods on a visceral level, but also resonates inside the mind after you've finished watching the movie.

Great performances all around (including a scene stealing Joe Mantegna) terrific F/X and absolutely spot-on direction by Tom Holland. Word has it that Stephen King didn't want this film to be made unless Holland was assigned directorial duties, as he had a working relationship with the man and knew what Holland wanted to do with the film.

I think waiting for Holland was a smart move, and that "Thinner" must be regarded among the classiest and most effective adaptations of King's work. For me, it accurately translated the to the screen the experience of reading a King novel.

I'm gonna give this surprisingly effective little gem :

Ten out of Ten Slimming Sychophants