Thinner (1996)

An obese attorney is cursed by a gypsy to rapidly and uncontrollably lose weight.

Director:

Tom Holland

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Michael McDowell (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert John Burke, Joe Mantegna, Lucinda Jenney

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert John Burke	...	Billy Halleck
Lucinda Jenney	...	Heidi Halleck
Bethany Joy Lenz	...	Linda Halleck (as Joy Lenz)
Time Winters	...	Prosecutor
Howard Erskine	...	Judge Phillips
Joe Mantegna	...	Richie Ginelli
Terrence Garmey	...	Bailiff
Randy Jurgensen	...	Court Clerk
Jeff Ware	...	Max Duggenfield
Antonette Schwartzberg	...	Mama Ginelli
Terence Kava	...	Gabe Lempke (as Terrence Kava)
Kari Wuhrer	...	Gina Lempke
Adriana Delphine	...	Gypsy Woman
Ruth Miller	...	Billy's Secretary
Walter Bobbie	...	Kirk Penschley

Storyline

A fat Lawyer finds himself growing "Thinner" when an old gypsy man places a hex on him. Now the lawyer must call upon his friends in organized crime to help him persuade the gypsy to lift the curse. Time is running out for the desperate lawyer as he draws closer to his own death, and grows ever thinner.

---

Plot Keywords:

female stockinged legs | pantyhose | psychological thriller | overweight | fat man | 

---

Taglines:

More terror. Less filling.

---

Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence and gore, language and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dr. Houston (Sam Freed)'s car was a 1978 Porsche 928.

---

Goofs

The position of the Gypsy after she is hit by the car.

---

Quotes

Billy Halleck: [last lines]
Billy Halleck: Dr. Mikey! A bit early for a house call, isn't it?
Dr. Mike Houston: Oh, Billy! It's- it's not what you think! I...
Billy Halleck: It's okay, Dr. Mikey. I was acting like kind of a big jerk. But, everything's fine with Heidi, I'm even starting to gain a little weight. In fact, I was just about to dig into this breakfast pie. Care to join me?
Dr. Mike Houston: I couldn't possibly...
Billy Halleck: Oh, it's no trouble at all...
Dr. Mike Houston: [enters the house]
Billy Halleck: ...white doctor from town.
Billy Halleck: [chuckles and shuts door]

---

Connections

Spoofed in Scary Movie (2000)

---

Soundtracks

Esmeralda
Written by Thomas Chase (as Thomas Jones-Chase), Steve Rucker, Ezra Kliger
Performed by Thomas Chase (as Thomas Jones-Chase) & Steve Rucker
Courtesy of C.R.P., Inc.

User Reviews

The Gypsy Curse

When a gypsy caravan arrives in Fairview, the conservative judge Phillips (Howard Erskine) forces the gypsies to leave town. Meanwhile the gluttony lawyer Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke), who has difficulties to reduce his weight, successfully defends the mobster Ritchie Ginelli (Joe Mantegna) in court; during the night, he celebrates with his partner and wives in a dinner party. While driving back home, his wife Heidi (Lucinda Jenney) makes oral sex with Billy and he runs over the old gypsy Suzanne Lempke (Irma St. Paule), the daughter of the patriarch Tadzu Lempke (Michael Constantine). During the trial, Billy omits the reason of the accident; the chief of police Duncan Hopley (Daniel von Bargen) perjuries; and the bigoted judge declares Billy not- guilty for the accident. On the next day, Billy, Duncan and Phillips are cursed by Tadzu that puts a hex on each one of them. Billy gets thinner and thinner and while seeking out Tadzu to ask him to remove the spell, he suspects that his wife is having an affair with his doctor and friend Mike Houston (Sam Freed). Billy feels that his life is running out and asks for help to Ritchie to convince Tadzu using his method to call off the jinx.

The creepy "Thinner" is an underrated and one of my favorite horror movies based on a Stephen King's novel. The special effects and make-up were state-of-art in 1996 and even thirteen years later, they are very good. With the exception of Billy'/s daughter, all characters are corrupt in some level and deserve their fate. A couple of months ago, I saw another good movie based on the same theme - a gypsy curse – Sam Raimi's "Drag me to Hell". My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição" ("The Curse")

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Thinner

Filming Locations:

Appleton, Maine, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,679,046, 27 October 1996

Gross USA:

$15,315,484

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,315,484

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Spelling Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1