one of my absolute favorites!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This engaging adaptation of the novel, which Stephen King wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym, stars the under rated Robert John Burke as Billy Halleck. Billy is a lawyer in Maine who happens to be grossly overweight. After he accidentally runs down an elderly Gypsy woman, his judge (John Horton) and cop (Daniel von Bargen) friends conspire to help Billy avoid any punishment. This infuriates the old womans' even more ancient father (Michael Constantine, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"), who places one of those old fashioned Gypsy curses on Billy. Stroking Billy's cheek, he utters one word: "Thinner". Soon, Billy is rapidly losing weight, which he enjoys at first, until he realizes that he really is going to waste away to nothing unless something is done.Just personally speaking, this viewer has a blast with this particular King story. Yes, it's unrelentingly downbeat, but he didn't mind that so much. And it's true: other than Billy's daughter Linda (Bethany Joy Lenz), there isn't a single character in the story who's remotely sympathetic. Still, this viewer found it refreshing that so many people here turn out to be such a-holes. It's a highly entertaining tale, well told by co-screenwriter and director Tom Holland ("Fright Night", "Child's Play"). And it's fortunately not completely without a sense of humor, although the humor tends towards the dark.There's wonderful music by Daniel Licht, but the real marvel of the movie is the astonishing, convincing makeup effects (supervised by Oscar winner Greg Cannom) that transform the thin Burke into an obese man. There's also a gem of a supporting performance by the always entertaining Joe Mantegna as a mafia man whom Billy had successfully defended in court. Therefore, the mobster feels indebted to the lawyer, and is more than willing to help Billy in his quest to convince the ancient Gypsy to remove the curse. The supporting cast is solid right down the line, with Lucinda Jenney as Billy's possibly unfaithful wife (the script tries to leave this aspect as ambiguous as possible), Sam Freed as a doctor friend, the intoxicatingly sexy Kari Wuhrer as Constantines' great granddaughter, Elizabeth Franz in a bravura turn as Hortons' wife, and Peter Maloney as an information provider. Director Hollands' son Josh plays Frank Spurton; King has his usual cameo (playing a pharmacist). What is a real laugh is the fact that actress Irma St. Paule, as the accident victim, actually looks OLDER than Constantine!Good gloomy fun, but it won't be to all "tastes", especially the ending.Eight out of 10.

"Thinner" (1996) was a fun enough outing; I'd give it an 8 out of 10. You can easily tell that this story originated with Stephen King. Only he can take an antiquated plot device like a gypsy curse and actually make it frightening.I do get the sense that screenwriters Michael McDowell and Tom Holland stuck closely to the original novel (which I have not read). It seems like a character-focused story; I'll bet the original prose really explored the incongruous friendship between Robert John Burke's mild-mannered attorney and Joe Mantegna's apparently psychotic mobster. I'll bet that King's unique style would have perfectly rendered certain plot points in the movie, such as one key conversation being overheard early on.I feel like an idiot ... For the life of me, I thought that actress Kari Wuhrer was Marissa Tomei. Her resemblance in this movie is striking. I can't be the only one who made that mistake, can I? Anyway, I really panned Wuhrer's performance in 2005's disappointing "Hellraiser: Deader." But she is damn terrific here in her role as the beautiful banshee adversary -- she damn near steals the movie. Also outstanding is Michael Constantine as her haggard, curse- casting gypsy father.

This movie may not deserve an Academy Award by today's standards, but that's no way to measure a film. I had fun watching it the entire time, and the whole adaptation exudes Stephen King in spirit.Although the story is undoubtedly cheesy at points and the acting is as expected from a 1996 Stephen King adaptation, the whole production comes together into a charming piece of film that can (at the right moments) leave you in shock, and by the end you can't help but have a big sadistic grin on your face. I cannot recommend this more for an interesting night in. It's star rating doesn't do it justice. Simply entertaining.

Simply stunning, I needed every one of the one hundred tacos I bought as sustenance specifically for this feast of horror.It is hard to pick a favourite scene from so many, but for me it has to be the defining moment of the film (and perhaps all gypsy horror films), when the fat man is confronted by his magical gypsy nemesis. "Thinner".The aftermath of this simple event will have you reeling from start to terrifying finish. I simply couldn't look for large portions of the film as I cowered behind my fridge.I recommend the blu-ray for the ultimate in high definition thinning.