The Silence of the Lambs Review

        Much like the 50s, the 90s was a dark time for horror. As I explained years back, most of the horror icons that were popular in the last decade were already becoming irrelevant. Wes Craven would twice reinvent the genre by making it meta or self-aware. Meanwhile, serial killers were the rage at that time, specifically the psychological aspect to them. The Silence of the Lambs was the first to have that nailed down, so much so that it won Best Picture. 

1. Clarice Starling

        Before I talk about Clarice, I think people weren’t aware that there already was a Hannibal Lecter film before this one. Manhunter came out in 1986 which was directed by Michael Mann. While it was met with a mixed reaction, it gave birth to numerous procedural dramas that came out during the next decade. One last thing, the entire film franchise is based on the works by Thomas Harris. 

        Anyways, we follow a young cadet Clarice. She gets assigned to investigate and find the serial killer named Buffalo Bill. Doing so, she goes into a mental hospital for help from an imprisoned killer Dr. Lecter. This is one of those instances where see everything through Starling’s perspective. Just as the film starts we see her struggling in the training course of the FBI. More so from her perspective that she’s in a male dominated position. 

        And man is she constantly reminded just how much she doesn’t fit within her department. That’s one of the main themes in the film and it’s sexuality. She tries to figure out and find the serial killer but is constantly probed by Dr. Lecter. Jodie Foster plays her so well. As much as I want to talk about the moments between her and Lecter, he gets his own tab. But we do get an understanding as to why she's in the FBI and what's in it for her to find the missing woman. 

        This is one of those instances where we actively worry about Clarice since she takes it upon herself to investigate the whereabouts of the killer. In the context of the film, she’s just a first timer who isn’t yet an active agent within the FBI. To give us a break between her investigation, we see her in the training field, but she struggles. It reinforces that underdog feeling that the movie’s going for.

        Lastly, the investigation work is never half-baked. All of it played completely straight when Clarice and her superior Crawford investigate the victim’s body. What I love is that after that, Starling goes to a close contact to identify the cocoon that was lodged inside the victim. That offers the explanation as to what type of bug it is in the film and in the poster. 

2. Hannibal

        Anthony Hopkins deserved to win the Academy Award for his performance as Lecter. He wasn’t the first one to portray the killer. With Manhunter, actor Brian Cox was tapped to play Hannibal. When this movie was in production, Cox wasn’t available to reprise his role. Just the introduction when we see that point of view shot to Lecter’s cell is just unsettling. Among the other inmates in the mental hospital, he just stands there.

        While his overall look and demeanor are just off putting. The way he speaks and conducts himself is mostly high class. But of course, he has that serial killer within him. The way he operates when he sees Clarice is that he wants to know more about her. The scenes when we see them in the cell and in the courthouse is sort of like a game of chess. Clarice is told what to get but tries her own method. And of course, we see just how clever Hannibal is when he plots his own methods to escape. It’s one thing that he’s a killer but he’s very smart and efficient with plotting his course. 

        Just them talking about her past and trying to move through the Dr.’s misdirect of anagrams is something to see. Some people believe that it should’ve been the whole movie of just them. Of course, there’s another killer that has a hostage. The moments when we see Bill are just psychotic. I’m glad, I know it sounds wrong, that we have a scene as to how he catches his victims. Bill is unassuming and then flips the switch of putting his victim in the bottom of the well. 

        And you’re probably asking yourself just how does the film correlate with horror. At it’s core it’s a thriller movie where Clarice is finding the killer and going to Lecter. The meat and potatoes of horror lie in the moments when Clarice is by herself and when we see Bill in his lair. Just seeing the hostages manic state of wanting to be let out is heartbreaking. Making matters worse is when she sees the bloodied claw marks of past victims. It’s the “what we don’t see” aspect that makes horror so much more effective, without needing to be explicit.

3. Legacy

        The film was massively successful box office wise. People were so enthralled with the performances of both Foster and Hopkins that they were Academy nominated and winning their respective categories. So much so that the movie is the first horror film to win the coveted Best Picture award. It says something where we didn’t see an onscreen kill that is practically the genre’s identity was probably the deal breaker to win the award. 

        Of course, when you have something successful, other studios try to capitulate and do something that is on par or just missing the point. Probably the best example that is slightly in the same league as this one is David Fincher’s Se7en. Having it follow the same footprints and one intimidating killer makes it a worthy contemporary. 

        Lastly, there were sequels to this one, but of course they weren’t as good as Silence. I think it was because people loved Lecter so much that he was the basis of his own movie that came out in 2001. I haven’t seen it, but it’s the highest grossing among the franchise, but it received mixed reviews. A prequel came out which remade Manhunter with Red Dragon which starred Ed Norton. It got to a point where people got tired, especially an origin story on Lector being completely unnecesarry. 

4. Overall

        The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best films of the 90s. While it’s horror is more subdued, the performances help set the uneasiness of the film.