SPOILERS FOR MOVIE AND BOOK "THINNER" AHEAD:
I am not a major King fan but have read some of his stuff and "Thinner" was always one of my favorites. I held off on seeing the movie for a long time as I'd heard it wasn't all that good and I think that a lot of King's work is not, for some reason, as good when their turned into movies. But after seeing it, I have mixed feelings. On the plus side, the basic story is the same. On the minus side, it was not anywhere near as good as the book. I thought the book was an 8 or 9 on a 10 scale but the movie was about average. Just my opinion.
Here are some things I noticed. Number one is that, at times, the movie seemed almost campy. The "fatsuit" that Billy wore looked totally fake. And it also seemed that some of the dialog, which was so powerful in the book took on an almost campy tone in the movie. The movie version had nowhere near the intensity of the book and many of the characters did not have the multi dimension aspect they did in the book. It wasn't awful, I mean the movie sure did keep one's attention but it wasn't great either.
In the book, one gets to know the turmoil that Billy Halleck experiences as a lot of the book focuses on his thinking. In the movie we don't get that. Honestly it seemed at times, like the character of Billy was channeling Jack Nicholson's character in "The Shining". The building of tension was not nearly so compelling and though I'm aware that this movie could have been a lot worse(And honestly I thought it would be) I still wish it had been better.
And then there's the ending. THAT was not done well at all. First of all in the book we do not see what the results of Heidi's eating the pie are., That was one thing that made the book ending so chilling. One really did not know WHAT happened and that was eerie and rather creepy. But in the movie it takes on a horror movie aspect, as the movie shows us what happened to Heidi which I didn't think it should have done. I was really surprised at that.
And then there's Billy's motivations himself. In the 'book" version Ginelli is killed by Gina and THAT'S what sends Billy over the edge. You clearly are made to understand by the writings of the book what happens and when. In the movie it is all about a possible affair between Heidi and the doctor which wasn't done that well and lacked believability. Another disappointment.
And then there's the CAMPY aspect again. I mean the last line at the end was something like "white doctor from town". It didn't sound serious, it sounded almost absurd. I was really disappointed by the end especially considering the power it had in the book.
Ginelli was played very well by Montegna but also lacked the complexity he had in the book. In the book version, the scenes between Hallack and Ginelli were very interesting and in the movie they really did not have that compelling aspect. Not the performers fault but still a letdown.
Now the things I liked. The photography was excellent. I love the fact that King's books take place in New England and they picked up the small town New England feel wonderfully. I also like that the gist of the original story was kept pretty much the same. And the same characters were still in the movie. The story itself was still compelling enough to hold my interest for the length of the movie. And it is thought provoking. So I'd still give it an average rating.
And if someone watches this who isn't familiar with the book they might like this better because it IS better then a lot of other movies that are made from King's books.
The last King movie I saw was "the Secret Window" which I absolutely hated. This was much MUCH better then that to be sure and I might even watch it again sometime but it was still disappointing overall. My vote is 5.
I am not a major King fan but have read some of his stuff and "Thinner" was always one of my favorites. I held off on seeing the movie for a long time as I'd heard it wasn't all that good and I think that a lot of King's work is not, for some reason, as good when their turned into movies. But after seeing it, I have mixed feelings. On the plus side, the basic story is the same. On the minus side, it was not anywhere near as good as the book. I thought the book was an 8 or 9 on a 10 scale but the movie was about average. Just my opinion.
Here are some things I noticed. Number one is that, at times, the movie seemed almost campy. The "fatsuit" that Billy wore looked totally fake. And it also seemed that some of the dialog, which was so powerful in the book took on an almost campy tone in the movie. The movie version had nowhere near the intensity of the book and many of the characters did not have the multi dimension aspect they did in the book. It wasn't awful, I mean the movie sure did keep one's attention but it wasn't great either.
In the book, one gets to know the turmoil that Billy Halleck experiences as a lot of the book focuses on his thinking. In the movie we don't get that. Honestly it seemed at times, like the character of Billy was channeling Jack Nicholson's character in "The Shining". The building of tension was not nearly so compelling and though I'm aware that this movie could have been a lot worse(And honestly I thought it would be) I still wish it had been better.
And then there's the ending. THAT was not done well at all. First of all in the book we do not see what the results of Heidi's eating the pie are., That was one thing that made the book ending so chilling. One really did not know WHAT happened and that was eerie and rather creepy. But in the movie it takes on a horror movie aspect, as the movie shows us what happened to Heidi which I didn't think it should have done. I was really surprised at that.
And then there's Billy's motivations himself. In the 'book" version Ginelli is killed by Gina and THAT'S what sends Billy over the edge. You clearly are made to understand by the writings of the book what happens and when. In the movie it is all about a possible affair between Heidi and the doctor which wasn't done that well and lacked believability. Another disappointment.
And then there's the CAMPY aspect again. I mean the last line at the end was something like "white doctor from town". It didn't sound serious, it sounded almost absurd. I was really disappointed by the end especially considering the power it had in the book.
Ginelli was played very well by Montegna but also lacked the complexity he had in the book. In the book version, the scenes between Hallack and Ginelli were very interesting and in the movie they really did not have that compelling aspect. Not the performers fault but still a letdown.
Now the things I liked. The photography was excellent. I love the fact that King's books take place in New England and they picked up the small town New England feel wonderfully. I also like that the gist of the original story was kept pretty much the same. And the same characters were still in the movie. The story itself was still compelling enough to hold my interest for the length of the movie. And it is thought provoking. So I'd still give it an average rating.
And if someone watches this who isn't familiar with the book they might like this better because it IS better then a lot of other movies that are made from King's books.
The last King movie I saw was "the Secret Window" which I absolutely hated. This was much MUCH better then that to be sure and I might even watch it again sometime but it was still disappointing overall. My vote is 5.