10 Greatest Villain Introductions In Movie History

Similarly to the aforementioned Hans Landa, what makes Hannibal Lecter's first-ever appearance on-screen so unsettling is the fact that, while you are aware of exactly how disturbing and dangerous the bloke is, he doesn't actually strike you as an absolute monster straight away.

Clarice Starling actually passes a few of those as she wanders past the cells on her way to meet the infamous doctor for the first time during The Silence of the Lambs. And it's that well crafted contrast between the more obviously dangerous criminals and the freakishly clean and still Lecter that immediately grabs your attention.

As Clarice tentatively engages in conversation with the psychiatrist-turned-cannibalistic-murderer, though, Lecter coldly dissects the FBI trainee with his piercing, unblinking eyes and even figures out what skin cream she uses from a quick sniff.

Despite her best attempts to get the supremely intelligent killer to help her understand the film's other psycho killer 'Buffalo Bill', the chilling Lecter simply enjoys playing with another potential meal throughout, eventually lashing her with the reveal that he once feasted on a census tester who also tried to collect information from him.

Anthony Hopkins oozes distressing brilliance opposite a Jodie Foster boasting bucketloads of defiance and dread in equal measure, and it's that wonderful combination that quickly immortalised Lecter as one of cinema's most horrifying predators.