it seem to me that stephen king bachman pen name be a way for him to put out some of the grimmer and raw and more mean spirited stuff that he want to write without contaminate his brand name . if you look back at the bachman book ( run man and the long walk and roadwork and thinner ) you notice they have a seal in feeling of airlessness and hopelessness about them that be distinct from mainstream king . i realize that we be talk about the guy whose first novel feature a humiliate and blood cover and emotionally cripple teenage girl slaughter everyone at her high school prom . but mainstream king always at have character and plot element that leaven the grimness of the proceeding a bit and and mostly have ending that offer at least a glimpse of hope and human feeling . bachman book be just plain mean and always end badly . ( btw and pet semetary could have easily be a bachman book if king hadn not reveal the alias by then . and the dark half seem to be at least partially about his bachman persona . ) thinner be the last bachman book and and man and with it theme of class warfare and revenge and and death by starvation and it be nasty . so it should be no surprise that the movie follow suit . what be a surprise be that the adaptation seem to be film at a tv movie of the week level of talent instead of something worthy of a theatrical release . ( these day and something like this would probably go directly to dvd or cable ) . the makeup work and the striking motif ( starve to death in the midst of plenty and a metaphor for the overfed and undernourished american middle class if there ever be one ) be all that keep you watch this misfire . what go wrong . my first thought be that the director be go for the nasty bachman vibe and but he also somehow suck all the interest out of the movie with poor cast choice the actor here ( with the exception of joe monetegna ) simply can not carry the movie . and then he squish the warmth and life out of the rest of the movie with awkward pacing and scene structure . plus he couldn not leave the plot alone and and his change do not really help . the script and dialog ought to work and but mostly the movie just lie there . everything be muffle and dull and airless and and no fun to watch . with the vivid exception of the spectacle of the main character get . thinner and and thinner and and thinner . a other have point out and thinner be by no mean the bad king movie ever make ( or even the second worst ) . and it do have a dreadful and compelling fascination owe to the theme and the careful makeup work . but first time viewer should approach this one with lowered expectation .