Blu-Ray Review: Scream Factory’s Thinner (Collector’s Edition) 

One of the more obscure Stephen King adaptations Thinner gets an overstuffed Blu-ray Collector’s Edition from Scream Factory.  

The Film 

As a man who’s struggled with my weight all my life, I appreciate that the adaptation of Thinner, Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke), is never a self-loathing overweight man.  Part of the beauty of Tom Holland’s adaptation of the King as Richard Bachman is the fact that Halleck never sees it as an issue.  Yes, there is some light joking but it’s never disgusting and abusive.  Thinner isn’t about the weight loss of the title at all but rather the abuses that white males take against anyone different than them.  Making this almost thirty-year-old film refresher than many of the socially conscious horror films of recent memory.  

Thinner of the title is a curse that the 109-year-old Patriarch (Michael Constantine) of a group of gypsies hexes onto Halleck.  It is done only after Halleck kills the Patriarch’s daughter (Irma St. Paule), and through his connections as a lawyer, he is able to get away with the crime without punishment.  Halleck at first thinks of this as a blessing but soon comes to realize it is anything but.  It isn’t just Halleck but the others involved as well that get their specific curses.  

Part of the brilliance of the film is Holland’s ability to mix humor, horror, dread, and fun into a subject that could have gone quickly stale.  Thinner in his hands is always narratively slippery giving the audience a certain number of twists (and twisted) narrative points.  How can you not laugh at a film that has its main character hex the gypsies with a “curse of the white man”? If you don’t get that many-layered joke … well as they say, you are part of the problem.  

Though never let the humor or fun belay the fact that as with many of the best adaptations of King’s work, there is an undercurrent of viciousness.  Thinner’s vicious side is as sharp and dark as Niche’s abyss.  An abyss by the end of its runtime will make those with the darkest of humor at the very least smile.    

Special note, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the Stephen King cameo! 

The Transfer

The Transfer provided by Paramount to Scream Factory is another winner for Shout Studios.  The image is free of any dirt, scratches, or defects through the run time.  The transfer is gorgeously luminous retaining all the grain structure, black, and contrast levels without a hint of artificating or crushing of the blacks making the 35mm shot film look beautifully representative of its origins.  

The Extras

They include the following;

• Audio Commentary With Tom Holland And Joe Mantegna
• Audio Commentary With Producer Mitchell Galin And Actor Joe Mantegna
• Audio Commentary With Film Critic/Historian Lee Gambin And Novelist Aaron Dries
•  “Weight Of The World” – An Interview With Director Tom Holland
•  “Thick And Thin” – An Interview With Actor Lucinda Jenney
•  “The Incredible Shrinking Man” With Special Make-Up Effects Artist Vincent Guastini
• Vintage Featurette: “The Magic Of Special Effects Make-Up”
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
• Still Gallery

The first track is an archival Audio Commentary with director Tom Holland and actor Joe Mantegna begins with introductions and how Holland shot the opening moment.  Some of the other details include the casting of primarily New York Stage actors; the make-up FX appliances used to make Robert John Burke look overweight – and the challenges and Burke’s work relayed by Holland; Mantegna’s working schedule and the down time between his work; Mantegna’s career in Audiobooks – including his work on the Thinner audiobook, and how this was the first where both style of acting audio and film; how the make-up appliances affected the schedule; the single use of a body double for Burke; some of the tricks used to hide the change from summer to fall for the production; the editing process and the difference between his first assembly and final cut; the color timing of the film – specifically during the reveal of the town sheriff – which leads to a larger conversation about color timing for “television”; the test screening process and how the subject if the wife was cheating or not came up; a larger discussion of the makeup changes as Billy the character begins to loose weight; and much more.  Holland and Mantegna give us a low-key commentary track that’s filled with insightful anecdotes about the production and more.  

The second is an all-new Audio Commentary with Producer Mitchell Galin and Mantegna hosted by Film Critic/Historian Lee Gambin, which begins with that this is two separate interviews with Gambin and Mantegna.  Some of the details from Mantegna’s portion of the commentary track which opens the film include how he got the role – including how Godfather Part III and The Simpsons played a role in getting this part; reading books that are adaptations – a fascinating discussion about reading Richard Parker before doing Spencer for Hire movies, and also how it applied here; how he approached the role and made it different from similar roles he had been cast in; how King was a huge fan of Stephen King; how Mantegna was a fan of Tom Holland – and a larger discussion of working with Holland on the film; his thoughts on film acting and film directing; and more.  Some of the details from Galin’s portion of the commentary track which comes about halfway through the film include how the producer got involved with the project; what he found were the stumbling blocks in the way to get the film produced; a detailed account of the development process of the film; how Tom Holland became attached to Thinner through his work and the success of The Langoliers; what Galin finds draws him to Stephen King – which leads to a larger discussion of King’s work as whole not just developing projects but also the man himself, the novels, working with King as a writer but also as a screenwriter and more off the cut personal anecdotes; and much more.  Both provide great insight into the production with Gambin interjecting and guiding when needed.  

The third (and final) is an all-new Audio Commentary with Film Critic/Historian Lee Gambin and Novelist Aaron Dries begins with Gambin and Dries discussing their personal accounts of their Stephen King fandom and critical works.  Some of the details include how the films themes work both in King’s work writ large and also how it works here; the context in which the film is released – the health craze, the weight loss culture, the rise of this and where it was when Thinner is released; other horror films that deal with weight loss; the work of screenwriter Michael McDowell – and his specific contributions; the references toward The Hunchback of Notre Dame; the work of Spelling Entertainment – including how they did the films but were mostly known for TV series; a history of Richard Bachman and his output – as a character that King created and the details that allowed him to writer from a different voice; the AIDs themes that are in this film; a larger discussion about Dino DeLaurentis wanting to produce a version of Thinner– including him wanting Sam Raimi to direct; the development process and the challenges that the material posed to studios; the fact that before Greg Cannom that Dick Smith was to do the make-up FX; a larger discussion about the FX work by Cannom and his group; the work of Holland adapting King; the work of screenwriter Michael McDowell and what he brought to King Adaptations but also his work in general; and much more.  Gambin and Dries bring a great conversation about not just this film but King’s work in a larger context and where this falls within that context.  

 “Weight Of The World” With Director Tom Holland (16:38) – the all-new interview with Holland opens with his view on what made Thinner so challenging a project to bring to the screen.  Holland discusses his age and the pressure Hollywood puts on creatives; his attraction to Thinner; what King thought it was about; his love of the horror community; the cameo by Stephen King and his friendship with the novelist; and much more.  

 “Thick And Thin” With Actor Lucinda Jenney (13:08) – the all-new interview with the actor begins with how the role was meant to be ambiguous.  Jenney discusses the internal work she did as an actor on the role; how she was cast in the film; she was a fan of Stephen King – and how it was the fact that she was raised in Maine; King’s cameo in the film – including a few great anecdotes about the author; what it was like working with director Holland; working with Robert Burke and his professionalism during the entire shoot working under a ton of make-up; her friendship with Kari Wuhrer; and much more.  

“The Incredible Shrinking Man” With Special Make-Up Effects Artist Vincent Guastini (14:57) – the all-new interview with the Effect Artist opens with his excitement about working with director Tom Holland and working on a Stephen King project.  The FX Artist discusses how he first began working on the Langoliers which eventually led to being hired for Thinner to work with Greg Cannom; his duties on the project and the challenges that they faced – how the work was doled out; working with Cannom – including a few anecdotes; details about materials and processes used to accomplish all of the work they did; and much more.  

Vintage Featurette: “The Magic Of Special Effects Make-Up” (20:11) – the featurette essentially hosted by FX Supervisor Greg Cannom that discusses and explains all of the complex work they did to accomplish the Make-up FX work.  Featuring a load of B-Roll footage that’s edited perfectly into the featurette with some truly great detailed looks at the work that goes into this make-up FX is accomplished – including sculps, painting, and application.  Featuring interviews with Make-up FX Supervisor Greg Cannom, director Tom Holland, Specialty Costume Designer Linda Benavente-Notaro, star Robert John Burke, and others.  

Theatrical Trailer (1:42) 

TV Spot (1:03) – two 30-second TV spots Still Gallery (4:09) – this gallery consisting of production stills, behind-the-scenes photographs, poster art, and home video art runs automatically with the score by Daniel Licht.  One can pause the stills to inspect them but cannot navigate them.  

The Final Thought 

Scream Factory has done right by Thinner.  Another of the lesser-seen Stephen King Adaptations by giving it a wonderful Collector’s Edition release.  Recommended!! 

Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray edition of Thinner is out January 23^rd