Stephen King's Thinner

[aaron158]

anyone else get this bluray. i got mine today and it strange the strink wrap on it felt weird like the kind u see on re sealed movies. also bluray case had sharp square edges rather then the rounded edges u normaly see. also when i pealed off the security seal half of the bluray logo on the case pealed off with it never had that happen before.

[Monty70]

Olive films uses a slightly different shaped keep case for their Blu-ray releases.

My copy of Private Hell 36 (released by Olive the same week as Thinner) also had the same problem. (security tape peeled off part of the Blu-ray insignia)

This company is in the process of correcting problems with the security tape they use. The tape that came with all previous Olive BDs left a sticky residue behind on the case.

[aaron158]

guess thats it this was the first movie i've ordered from that company. seems weird that the strink wrap was around the slipcover rather then the movie case. also the ponits were it was melted togther were on the back of the strink wrap rather then the sides like u normaly see.

[sancho]

Kari Wuhreer was hot in Thinner.
I will pick up this Blu as soon as there is a price drop.

[sancho]

Kari Wuhreer again

[JetsFoo]

i wasnt even aware that this movie came out on BD where can i get this?!?!

[RudyC]

Originally Posted by sancho

Kari Wuhreer again

yea she is hot as hell...i looked her up on imdb and this is the only movie i like that she is in....just another nobody.

btw...i thought she was tara reid or something at first.

[Jlouisbarrett]

Does anyone know if the German release of this film contains any extras?

[The Mole]

The German Blu-ray is a bootleg. Avoid.

[RedHarvest]

Rewatched this last night; such a strange tone, but very effective. I could see this getting a new release in a special edition. Feels like it's ripe for rediscovery with the resurgence in King properties.

[Bumblefeet]

I haven't rewatched the movie in a long time and it reminds me of composer Daniel Licht's and Daniel Von Bargen's sudden deaths. Especially the latter I can imagine is unsettling to watch in Thinner given his suicide attempt. Underrated actor though.

A special edition could be interesting especially in regards to the effects, which will only suffer more from a new transfer I imagine. Thinner is below par King for me, better suited in an anthology series (like nightmares and dreamscapes) than as a motion picture.

[The Great Owl]

I was one of the lucky winners of the drawing, and I received my Olive Blu-ray of Thinner today.

This gives me some incentive to keep getting back in decent shape after my appendectomy a couple of months ago.

[The Great Owl]

Billy, a wealthy attorney played by Robert John Burke (Tombstone), has a weight problem and tips the scales at 300 pounds, despite the best efforts of his wife, played by Lucinda Jenney (Rain Man), but his health does not prevent him from scoring a court victory that results in the acquittal of an underworld crime boss. While driving home from a celebratory dinner, the lawyer's attention is diverted from the road, and he accidentally runs over and kills an elderly woman who belongs to a gypsy caravan that has just set up on the town square. After Billy is found legally innocent of any wrongdoing, he is approached by the gypsy woman's 106 year-old father, who curses him by touching his face and uttering the word, “thinner.”

Billy begins to lose several pounds a day, although he continues to consume thousands of unhealthy calories. His initial delight soon turns to terror when he drops over 100 pounds in a matter of weeks and is unable to stop the weight loss, even though he is given a clean bill of health by doctors. Billy's only chance to stop himself from wasting away before his own eyes is to track down the gypsy caravan, but far greater horrors are lying in wait for him.

The 1996 horror film, Thinner, was directed by Tom Holland (Child's Play) and based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Stephen King, who first published it under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. One of King's most mediocre literary offerings is given an even more underwhelming screen treatment here, mostly because, although the premise is a diabolically subversive take on America's obsession with diets, neither the author nor the filmmakers really knew how to end the story. King, as Bachman, at least refused to let his characters off the hook and, as such, presented some interesting meditations on morality and revenge. This movie adaptation does not even manage that, and the end result is a tale of unlikable characters that starts off strong, but ultimately delves into standard action thriller fare. Another shortcoming is that the latex fat-person makeup applied to lead actor Burke is not convincing, nor is the makeup for the gypsy father, played by Michael Constantine (My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

Thinner is not a total loss on the scales, thanks to a couple of genuinely entertaining supporting performances. Joe Mantegna (Searching for Bobby Fischer) is a joy to watch as the crime boss who repays Billy's legal favors by helping him in his battle against the gypsies. The most rewarding aspect of this outing, however, is watching actress Kari Wuhrer, who was a sweetheart of the 1990s in films like Anaconda and in television shows like Sliders, go absolutely bonkers with a fake accent and gloriously feral outbursts of anger as the great-granddaughter of the supernatural gypsy leader.

This Olive Films Blu-ray is a bare-bones affair, but it sports a great-looking video presentation. I would like to see a more expansive Olive Signature edition of this movie that is not as...(drumroll, please)...thin on extras and supplementary material, but this existing edition works well.

[Henderston]

Don't suppose anyone has a slipcover from this release that they're willing to part with?

[rcbetker]

Watched for free on Prime, and has 5.1ch audio. Very decent picture quality!

Only problems I saw were a lower quality fireplace scene in last 10 minutes, and then shaky cam outdoor scene afterwards for few seconds that would be great to be corrected in a future remaster.

Had also tried 4k stream rental of Pet Semetary and wasn't that impressed (their 4K Coming to America was great though) .

[Russhole]

Happy 25th Anniversary!

[TylerDurden389]

Any special features? Silly question given this is basically a forgotten 90's film, but I caught this on a horror-themed channel here in Florida some time ago and there was like 10 minutes of additional footage. Several scenes throughout the film but the only one I remember was Billy talking to Richie ("the hammer") one last time before going after Lempke. Nothing really special, just Richie telling Billy to call him if he needs help.

I also saw some pictures where Billy is on the payphone talking to his wife and daughter at the end to let them know he's coming home, and he looks at the hole in his hand, which is now smaller. Although I can see why they'd cut this, as it might be a bit "too much" for audiences to suspend their disbelief. But at the same time, its wrong to assume the audience would forget/assume the hand healed itself, given that it was stabbed AGAIN for Lempke to transfer the curse.