10 Horror Movie Villains Who Became Smarter In The Sequel

A contentious entry to end proceedings, but hear this take out.

The intellect demonstrated by Hannibal Lecter in his debut appearance in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs is arguably on such a level that the notion of the cannibalistic psychiatrist surpassing it is almost laughable.

Lecter does manage a spectacularly devious escape from police custody in his original outing, masquerading as a critically wounded guard by draping a dead man's surgically removed face over his own in one of horror's most iconic sequences. While on the run in 2001 follow-up Hannibal, however, Anthony Hopkins' Machiavellian villain ramps things up to a whole new level.

Initially posing as a museum curator was a new twist of brilliance in itself, a role perfectly suited to Lecter's cultured background. Even with the FBI in rampant pursuit, Hannibal's intellect manifests itself with even more spectacular results this time around. For context, the Italian Chief Inspector - one of the more senior figures involved in the manhunt - ends up dangling from the Palazzo Vecchio's balconies with his intestines hanging out in gleefully grotesque fashion; the same shudder-worthy fate that befell historical members of his ancestral family.

Lecter's intelligence is on full display again in the film's climax as he realizes he is incapable of hurting Clarice, making the shocking decision to cut off his own arm in order to escape in a final split-second demonstration of his macabre brilliance.