Thinner (2006) #421

In his typical fashion, Stephen King takes an obvious and yet grossly over looked premise and writes a simple story that can carry an entire movie. In this case the premise is about a man who is suffering from the ill effects of a gypsy's curse in the film "Thinner". More camp than scary horror, "Thinner" is a fun movie even if you can't take it seriously. 

The star of this particular film isn't one of the actors but rather the special effects. Defense attorney Billy Halleck, played by Robert John Burke, begins the film as a very heavy set man before slowly but steadily losing weight and becoming deathly thin and frail. The fat suit isn't too obvious in the beginning but becomes so when he is reduced to the actor's actual weight. The special effects for when he continues to lose weight are pretty solid for the time, way back in the year 1996!

For me, the movie really shines in the absurdity of mob boss Ritchie Ginelli, played with cheesy zest by Joe Mantegna. His loyalty to his lawyer is commendable, and the way that he attempts to deal with the gypsies is simply hilarious. It's different, maybe not appropriate for a horror movie, but fun.