The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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Silence of the Lambs remains one of the darkest, grittiest, most disturbing, realistic horror films of all time. It is the first, and as far as I know, only horror film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The movie, and Anthony Hopkins’s Performance helped make Hannibal Lecter an iconic character. Few people seem to remember Ted Levine’s terrifying portrayal of Buffalo Bill. The character is frightening, especially with how much he feels like an actual serial killer. The film is well-written, and the tension really builds. The building tension is perhaps best utilized through the movie’s climax. The movie also understands the importance of less is more. When Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling is shown a picture of what Lecter did to a nurse, we the audience never really see what she sees. We just know it’s horrible. Couple that with the bone-chilling line “His pulse never got above 85.” Like the film Seven, much of the movie’s violent images seem to be a backdrop, until the conclusion. Spectacular direction, an all-around fantastic cast, and superb writing make for film that is great to watch on Halloween, but can easily be viewed any time of the year. 

10 / 10