This movie is technically a thriller but it pops up on so many horror-listicles nowadays that to not include it here would actually ruffle more feathers. Theres not a lot of new ground to tread in praising this movie. It won five Oscars, spawned countless spin-offs (and now a television show) and is studied in film schools across the globe. The performances are flawless and the story structure is unique yet accessible. Dr. Hannibal Lecter is one of the best villains the medium has ever seen, and hes not even the one theyre trying to catch (mostly). Jonathan Demme, meanwhile, has done a lot of other great things. He directed one of the best concert documentaries of all time in Stop Making Sense and garnered another few Oscars for his AIDS-drama Philadelphia. He turned 70 earlier this year but is still churning out fresh material, including the semi-recent romantic drama Rachel Getting Married. After The Silence Of The Lambs however, it seems that he was done with liver-eating, fluid-flinging, skin-wearing monsters. The genre is worse off for it.
Joe Sippy grew up in Chicago and now resides in Los Angeles. He enjoys corn dogs, rap music, and horror movies. On weekends you can find him in the ocean, surfing very poorly.
