5. Dr. Frederick Chilton - The Silence of the Lambs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09TAIcCqFpg Now, to be fair, this is one death that we don't actually see on screen, but it's so witty and darkly clever that we had to include it on the list anyway, as well as the fact that Dr. Frederick Chilton is just such a complete douchebag. Dr Chilton works for the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane and freely boasts about the more grotesque habits of Hannibal Lecter's when he's not sleazily trying to hit on FBI Agent Clarice Starling. Anyway, it's Chilton's idiocy that eventually results in Lecter's escape from the Hospital, and as a result he also stifles the plan to rescue Senator Martin's daughter. In short, he's a hateful character, an annoying worm of a man who only looks out for himself and revels in the macabre. At the film's end, when Lecter has escaped to Jamaica, he informs Clarice rather facetiously that he's "having an old friend for dinner", as we see Chilton walking through the streets, with Lector slowly stalking him, making us fully aware of his intentions. It's a devilishly clever way to infer what we don't see, and makes it clear that this loathsome git is going to get what he deserves.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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