Stephen King's THINNER (1996)
Collector's Edition Blu-ray
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 92 Minutes 23 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Tom Holland
Cast: John Burke, Joe Mantegna, Michael Constantine, Lucinda Jenney, Bethany Joy Lenz,
Irma St. Paule, John Horton, KariWuhrer, Daniel von Bargen
The Tom Holland (Fright Night) directed adaptation of Stephen King's Thinner (1996), which King wrote under is Richard Bachmen pseudonym, stars Robert John Burke (Dust Devil) as Connecticut Billy Halleck, an obese upper class lawyer who lives with his wife Heidi (Lucinda Jenney, Matinee) and their daughter Linda (Bethany Joy Lenz, Bring It On Again). At home his wife attempts to persuade her chubby-hubby to avoid unhealthy foods, but its a difficult task, he loves to eat, especially during a celebratory dinner to commemorate his successful defense of notorious Mafia boss Richie "The Hammer" Ginelli (Joe Mantegna, The Money Pit) - where ge gets pretty gluttonous. On the drive home his horny wife tries to convince him there's more to life than fatty foods by giving him an impromptu front-seat blow job, but while distracted he hits and kills elderly Romani woman Suzanne Lempke (Irma St. Paule, Psychos in Love). Despite his clear guilt he is exonerated with the help of slanted testimony and preferential treatment from Judge Cary Rossington (John Horton, The Shawshank Redemption) and police chief Duncan Hopley (Daniel von Bargen, Lord of Illusions) who sweep it under the rug.
Unhappy with the verdict the woman's 109-year-old Romani father Tadzu Lempke (Michael Constantine, My Big Fat Greek Wedding), the Gypsy King, curses the men complicit in his daughters death. Lempke's curse causes Burke to begin to waste away, at first the unexplained weight loss seems miraculous, but when the weight continues at an impossible and clearly unhealthy rate he fears a cancer or parasite diagnosis, but Dr. Mike Houston (Sam Freed, Coneheads) runs a battery of tests and dismisses it. All the while he's gorging himself in 12K calories in an effort to avoid wasting away to nothingness. At first he does not take heed of the gypsy curses, but with his body mass plummeting he becomes a believer real quick, especially when he discovers the afflictions suffered by the corrupt judge and the chief; one becoming a human-lizard with scales, the other a walking-ulcer. His wife remains a non-believer, but Burke desperate to save his life tracks down the Gypsy King to beg for forgiveness in an effort to have the curse removed, but Lempke and his smokin' hot daughter (Kari Wuhrer, Eight-Legged Freaks) are less than receptive to his shallow pleas, leading to Burke calling in a favor from Richie "The Hammer" Ginelli.
When I first watched this on cable I thought it was just alright, but it didn't make much of an impression, so much so it appears I never bought the DVD or previous Olive Films Blu-ray releases, which tells me just how much I was cold on it. Revisiting it 30-years later I've certainly warmed on. The body-horror elements are pretty solid, ranging from fat-suit obesity to bone-thin incarnations of Burke, to the truly grotesque lizard-skinned and ulcer ridden Visage of the judge and chief. The Gypsy King himself at 109 looks a bit lizard-skinned himself with mottled aged skin and a festering ulcer on his nose that's pretty unsightly, but none of it is Cronenberg-worthy as body horror goes.
The strange mix of horror, humor and Gypsy curses sort of prefigures Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell. Which I thought of often while watching this. I think Raimi's flick is sharper-edged and balances the humor/horror significantly better though. At the heart of the story is Burke, privileged lawyer who fucks up but because of his position in the community faces no consequences for his actions, until the bereaved Gypsy forces it upon him. This aspect of it feels undercooked and undeveloped, what could have been an effecting examination of guilt and personal responsibility gets a dire payoff as the character is given an out from his predicament, as well as the the opportunity to atone, and while it feels appropriately pulpy in an EC comics sort of way it comes up shallow, That he is a fairly morally reprehensible character who doesn't get much of an redemption arc didn't ruin it for me, like I said, I warmed-up to it a bit more than I recall feeling about it as a early 20-somthing in the mid-90s, I just think the story could have mined with bit more depth, and personally I could have done with a few less scenes of Mantegna and Wuhrer, both of whom are fine, but their characters stray into some oddball territory, especially Mantagne's Rambo-esque gun assault on a Gypsy camp. Stephen King of course makes one of his Hitchcockian cameos, this time as a pharmacist, and it's pretty restrained for King, but still fun.
Audio/Video: Thinner on Blu-ray from Scream Factory is presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. There's no verbage about the source or HD scan but the image looks solid. Grain is present, fine, and well-managed, colors and skin tones look accurate, black levels are strong and depth and clarity are pleasing, a to my surprise the seams of the fat-suit hold up quite nicely under the scrutiny of HD. Overall pleasing and filmic image from Scream Factory.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround with optional English subtitles, both tracks are clean and well-balanced. Dialogue comes through nicely, no issues there, and the Daniel Licht (Dexter) score has a full-bodied presence, and the more lively moments involving gunfire, screams and vehicular carnage sound great.
Scream Factory load-up their Collector's Edition with new extras starting off with a new Audio Commentary with Producer Mitchell Galin and Actor Joe Mantegna, then another Audio Commentary with Film Critic/ Historian Lee Gambin and Novelist Aaron Dries. New interviews star of with the 17-min “Weight Of The World” – Interview with Director Tom Holland wherein he discusses reading the book, what it's like adapting King and his cameo in the film, his surprise the film has not been better received and more. Also new is the 13-min “Thick And Thin” – Interview with Actor Lucinda Jenney with the actress who played Burke's wife, she discusses her characters, how she played her, her motivations, and her memories of the cast and the director. In the 15-min “The Incredible Shrinking Man” with Special Make-Up Effects Artist Vincent Guastini, he talks about how he came to work on the film, working with Holland, and the challenging make-up FX work he did, also pointing out some errors. They also port over archival extras by way of an Audio Commentary with Tom Holland and Joe Mantegna; 20-min Vintage Featurette: “The Magic of Special Effects Make-Up”, 2-min Theatrical Trailer; 1-min of TV Spots and a 4-min Still Gallery.
The single-disc release arrives in an eco-case with a 2-Sided Non-Reversible Sleeve of Artwork featuring the original movie poster artwork, which has a certain Phantom of the Opera vibe about it. Was never a huge fan of it but it blows away the artwork that I love used for their Blu-ray IMO. There's also a Limited Edition (First-Pressing Only) Slipcover with the same artwork. This is the first time I've seen an eco-case used for the Scream Factory Collector's Edition - not a fan of this corner-cutting measure from SF, so I switched it out.
Special Features:
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Producer Mitchell Galin and Actor Joe Mantegna
-NEW! Audio Commentary with Film Critic/ Historian Lee Gambin and Novelist Aaron Dries
- NEW! “Weight Of The World” – Interview with Director Tom Holland (16:38)
- NEW! “Thick And Thin” – Interview with Actor Lucinda Jenney (13:08)
- NEW! “The Incredible Shrinking Man” with Special Make-Up Effects Artist Vincent Guastini (14:57)
- Audio Commentary with Tom Holland and Joe Mantegna
- Vintage Featurette: “The Magic of Special Effects Make-Up” (20:11)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:42)
- TV Spots (1:03)
- Still Gallery (4:09)
Special Features:
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Producer Mitchell Galin and Actor Joe Mantegna
-NEW! Audio Commentary with Film Critic/ Historian Lee Gambin and Novelist Aaron Dries
- NEW! “Weight Of The World” – Interview with Director Tom Holland (16:38)
- NEW! “Thick And Thin” – Interview with Actor Lucinda Jenney (13:08)
- NEW! “The Incredible Shrinking Man” with Special Make-Up Effects Artist Vincent Guastini (14:57)
- Audio Commentary with Tom Holland and Joe Mantegna
- Vintage Featurette: “The Magic of Special Effects Make-Up” (20:11)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:42)
- TV Spots (1:03)
- Still Gallery (4:09)
While I warmed-up to this flick since I last saw it this is still a mid-tier King adaptation, but I certainly enjoyed the new extras and solid A/V presentation from Scream Factory who give this flick a proper Collector's Edition that fans will certainly enjoy, this definitive edition is the one to own - until the inevitable 4K upgrade at some later date.
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