8 Horror Movies Where The Villain Is Really The Hero

3. The Silence Of The Lambs - Hannibal Lecter 

Hannibal Lecter Silence Of The Lambs
Orion Pictures

Sometimes, there has to be a bit of give and take in the horror game.

In The Silence of the Lambs, Sir Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter ends up helping the FBI to bring down the creepy, skin-peeling killer known as Buffalo Bill. The caveat here, though, is that the genius smarts of Lecter come at a price - and that price is often drenched in cannibalism.

Without the assistance of Dr. Lecter, Clarice Starling would not have been able to bring Buffalo Bill down. There's just that small elephant in the room when it comes to Lecter's own dark habits.

Throughout The Silence of the Lambs, we're left with a constant feeling that Lecter could actually escape his imprisoned confinement at the drop of a hat. Instead, he waits until he's given Clarice all of the pointers she needs to find Buffalo Bill before Lecter opts to make his grand, glorious, gory break for freedom.

Even after breaking out of the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Lecter still finds time to check in on Clarice during the movie's final moments - with Hannibal Lecter serving as a flesh-eating mentor figure of sorts to Starling.

Giving the Hannibal Lecter character a further shot of heroism, 2007's Hannibal Rising showed how the young Hannibal was a skewed hero looking to avenge the death of his young sister.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.