10 Movies Where You Want The Villain To Win

The Hannibal Lecter franchise has had its fair share of ups and downs, discounting the TV adaptation which is damn near perfect. Michael Mann’s Manhunter was an excellent thriller that didn’t make good use of the character and Hannibal Rising failed to give us a worthy origin for our cultured cannibal, despite the tragically departed Gaspard Ulliel giving it his all.

It was Silence of the Lambs that gave the world its first taste of Anthony Hopkins' inimitable Lecter and, to date, it remains the character's best big-screen outing. It makes it even more amazing that Hopkins only needed seventeen minutes to achieve this, seventeen minutes to serve up one of cinema history’s greatest villains.

The Silence of the Lambs is a testament to the power of good writing and an excellent performance. Hopkins was a scene-stealing force of nature in every sequence he was in and - despite his troubling dietary requirements - his sheer suaveness and intellect gave the impression that he shouldn’t be locked up in the first place, If only so we, the audience, could maybe share a cheeky glass of chianti with him at some point.

His daring, gory escape in the third act of the film feels more than earned, having outmanoeuvred his captors, the FBI and the entire state of Baltimore to do so. It was difficult not to punch the air when he made his triumphant getaway.