Review of Thinner (1996) by Michael Y — 24 Apr 2011

"Let the curse fit the crime." Critics may pan this movie, and it might not be the best horror movie, but this movie adaptation of Stephen King's novel is still creepy enough to be enjoyed.

A fat, egotistic and corrupt lawyer accidently runs over an old Gypsy woman and plays the price for it. The Gypsy father places a curse on him and his friends who helped him get away free in court. Now the fat lawyer is getting thinner and thinner, every day, no matter how much he eats. What seems pretty cool begins to kill him, so he goes on a path of revenge to try to get his curse lifted. This movie is a good thought of a story, but not a really developed one. Thinner is more of a cheep psychological thriller, and a little bit of paranoia when the main character thinks that his wife is cheating on him. Some good story elements are there, but it doesn't seem developed enough. But it's still a creepy concept with some good moments that makes this movie a good creeper to watch once and a while.

The directing isn't the best. It does have a good creepy mood, but never pushes towards being scary, some psychological moments that don't seem dramatic enough. But it does have it's moments, especially when the main character encounters his other friends who are slowly mutating because of their curse. The moment is right and builds antisipation to know what the character looks like, but it's the actors who put a lot of the movie's eerieness in the picture. But the ones to really thank are the makeup artists. A nice good fat suit on Robert John Burke to start, then as he gets thinner he shows more flab on his face. And the other characters who get cursed, they're even better. There's some good makeup here to add to the movie's creepiness.

It's not that great, but it's still plenty good. Thinner is a thriller that may be cheap at times, but it's those spacific creepy moments that appeal. It's a low budget horror movie that's all right souly because it's from the mind of Stephen King.