The works of author Stephen King have inspired numerous film and television adaptations over the years. One such Stephen King adaptation, a rather underrated attempt at adapting King’s horror works, is now streaming for free. For fans that are eager to see a King story that’s rather overlooked these days, it’s definitely worth the watch.
This particular film was released in 1996. Interestingly, the story it’s based on was written by King albeit with his pseudonym Richard Bachman. While fans of King are quite familiar with the stories he wrote as Richard Bachman, there was once a time when readers had no idea they were the same. Or, at the very least, they could only hold strong suspicions that they were until a proper announcement was made.
In any case, this specific film and the story it’s based on are now rather heavily tied to King. In fact, it’s the story that made clear King was, in fact, Bachman. Now fans interested in this overlooked piece of Stephen King history can check out the movie for free.
The film is none other than Thinner. The 1996 body horror movie was directed by Tom Holland, the director of such horror hits as Fright Night and Child’s Play and is currently available on Pluto TV. The screenplay, based on the story by King as Bachman, was co-written by Holland and Michael McDowell, the writer of Beetlejuice.
It’s a rather interesting combination of creative minds that came together to bring this story to life. The cast includes Robert John Burke, Joe Mantegna, Kari Wuhrer, and Daniel von Bargen among others. Burke, who plays Billy Halleck in the film, undergoes various makeup transformations to illustrate how his character, an obese man, is cursed to become increasingly and fatally thin.
It’s an interesting premise that may raise some eyebrows in today’s cultural climate. Nonetheless, for fans of King and body horror, or the works of Tom Holland, it’s certainly worth a watch. It’s a macabre thrill ride with just enough camp to nail the differences between classic King adaptations and what projects tend to be greenlit today.
While the film only made $15.3 million domestically at the box office on an $8 million budget, it’s a true piece of King’s history and an example of how unique his writing style is. After all, it is what led to the public realization that King was, in fact, Richard Bachman. So for Stephen King fans that might want to dive into this entry into his catalogue, or at the very least, revisit a film they might’ve last watched on VHS or late night TV in the 1990’s, it’s certainly worth streaming for free.