20 Serial Killer Movies You Must See Before You Die

3. Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

One of the best known - and one of the best - serial killer movies of all-time, Silence of the Lambs is perhaps most interesting because it's not a movie about a detective trying to capture its most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. Instead, it's about an FBI agent enlisting the help of the infamous serial killer in order to catch another. Jonathan Demme's masterpiece is a perfect nihilistic mood piece that grows more powerful with each and every viewing; Anthony Hopkins is fantastic as the brilliant genius - and cannibalistic psychopath - Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who aids Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling in her attempt to track down and outwit the freaky Buffalo Bill, who is without question one of cinema's most terrifying serial killers ("It rubs the lotion on its skin"). The chemistry shared between Hopkins and Foster is palpable, whilst Howard Shore's menacing score imbues the picture with a truly disturbing edge. A modern classic.