Thinner

Thinner is a 1996 horror-fantasy film about Billy Halleck, an obese lawyer who has connections to organized crime and few qualms about the clients he takes on. After his car strikes and kills an elderly Romani woman, his influence helps him walk away from court without punishment. The dead woman's community responds by placing a curse on those involved in the trial, leaving Halleck's life a waking nightmare.

In Halleck's case, the affliction is a steady, uncontrollable loss of weight that continues no matter what he does and puts him on a path toward death. To save himself, he turns to a former client, a mafia boss, hoping that pressure and force can convince the Romani elder Tadzu Lempke to withdraw the curse before it finishes its work.

Tom Holland directed the film, his fifth feature after Fright Night, Child's Play, Two-Fisted Tales and The Temp, and he co-wrote the screenplay with Michael McDowell. Robert John Burke leads the cast as Billy Halleck, with Michael Constantine as Tadzu Lempke, Lucinda Jenney as Heidi Halleck, Kari Wuhrer as Gina Lempke, John Horton as Cary Rossington and Sam Freed as Mike Houston.

Made for about 8 million dollars, the film took roughly 15 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 5.8 out of 10 from around 37,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 5.9 from far fewer votes. A critics' rating of 3.8 out of 10 from 26 reviews places it below both audience scores.