Michael Mann: Ranking His Films From Worst To Best
5. Manhunter
Okay, so Brett Ratners 2002 take on Thomas Harriss novel Red Dragon isnt terrible; still, it has nothing on Manns 1987 adaptation of the same novel, which - released 4 years prior to The Silence Of The Lambs and Anthony Hopkins forever staking his claim as the definitive Hannibal Lecter - casts a decidedly lesser-known actor, Brian Cox, in the role of the high-society-cannibal. Cox exudes a subtler menace that, while perhaps less overtly horrifying, is still plenty creepy in its own right, especially when you find yourself trying to shake his low-key drawl from your head before bed. Riveting as Coxs performance is, however, its merely one aspect of a film that is more than deserving of it: wholly unflinching in his vision, Mann paints a world onscreen that is irritating to the senses, dripping with neon, grime, and dank unpleasantness, combined with a Tangerine Dream score that dominates the experience with an unnerving austerity. Manhunter is the closest that Mann has yet come to making a full-fledged horror movie, and one can only hope that it wont be his last. Manhunter may not be fun in the conventional sense, but for those willing to succumb to its dark vibe, theres plenty to be admired.
