Review of Silence of the Lambs

This is it, folks. The movie that set the standard for all those crime thrillers about an unlikely cop/detective/federal agent on the trail of a quirky and brutal serial killer. It's the genre that a generation of beginning screenwriters have tried to mimic to make a million dollars. The Silence of the Lambs did it first, and as far as I'm concerned, it did it the best.



Anthony Hopkins in the role of Hannibal Lecter is truly scary in a compelling way. When the movie takes a major digression from the plot to follow his escape attempt, the viewer really doesn't mind. While movies are filming, do actors know they are playing roles that will become icons?

On the opposite end of the spectrum of creepiness is Ted Levine's Buffalo Bill character. He is a gigantic, terrifying moth. He lives in darkness. With the aid of night vision goggles, he sees in the dark. He follows his desires to become a woman, just as a caterpillar becomes a moth, with horrifying result.

I'm glad I watched it.
4 skinned murder victims out of 5