IMDb > Thinner (1996)
Thinner
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Overview

User Rating:
5.2/10   7,063 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 25% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Tom Holland
Writers (WGA):
Stephen King (novel)
Michael McDowell (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Thinner on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 October 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Horror | Thriller more
Tagline:
Let The Curse Fit The Crime. more
Plot:
A lawyer is cursed by a gypsy to lose weight...and lose weight...and lose weight... full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
50 Influential Scream Queens: Part 1
 (From Fangoria. 27 October 2009, 5:54 AM, PDT)

Co-Author Chuck Hogan Talks The Strain
 (From Dread Central. 3 June 2009, 8:10 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
A Macbre Weight-loss Film more (94 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Robert John Burke ... Billy Halleck

Joe Mantegna ... Richie Ginelli
Lucinda Jenney ... Heidi Halleck

Michael Constantine ... Tadzu Lempke

Kari Wuhrer ... Gina Lempke

Bethany Joy Galeotti ... Linda Halleck (as Joie Lenz)

Time Winters ... Prosecutor
Howard Erskine ... Judge Phillips
Terrence Garmey ... Bailiff
Randy Jurgensen ... Court Clerk
Jeff Ware ... Max Duggenfield
Antonette Schwartzberg ... Mama Ginelli

Terence Kava ... Gabe Lempke (as Terrence Kava)
Adriana Delphine ... Gypsy Woman
Ruth Miller ... Billy's Secretary
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Stephen King's Thinner
more
MPAA:
Rated R for horror violence and gore, language and sexuality.
Runtime:
92 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
Netherlands:16 (TV rating) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM14 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Appleton, Maine, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director Tom Holland wasn't happy with the ending; the producers changed the original one because every test audience hated it. more
Goofs:
Continuity: (At 01:22:00) During the end part with the pie, Halleck puts the pie on a small shelf of the corner of the bar. After the shot with the daughter, the pie is in the middle of the bar, and the shelf disappeared. more
Quotes:
Billy Halleck: What are you trying to do to me?
Heidi Halleck: What you wanted me to do in the back seat of your daddy's car. Prove my love to you.
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in Scary Movie (2000) more

FAQ

What does the old gypsy say to Chief Hopley?
more
8 out of 13 people found the following comment useful.
A Macbre Weight-loss Film, 29 December 2004
5/10
Author: jrfranklin01 from Palm Beach, FL

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

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Thinner (1996)
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Different Ending? orlzzt
the gypsy language Stranger_124
Richie the Hammer - the greatest role interpretation throughout history? oleg-stevanovic-1
The Hammer sinister_80
Ten Best Stephen King Movies angeloupocco
original ending collieswiss
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