The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Review (Favourite Films Series)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Review (Favourite Films Series)

There are many facets to the horror genre. To me, most of the genre’s best offerings come in the form of lesser known flicks, usually of lower-to-middling-budget, but then there’s an assemblage of films that, for whatever reason, really took off. In general, horror has always been less widely accepted than other genres, but certain films managed to enrapture wide audiences and achieve a level of fame few films in the genre can. The Silence of the Lambs may be the most famous example. 

If you don’t know what it’s about, here’s what you’re missing. An FBI agent-in-training, Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), is tapped by Jack Crawford (this time played by Scott Glenn) to talk with Hannibal Lecter and get help in capturing a serial killer known as “Buffalo Bill”, who is killing women and taking their skin. It’s some very dark, disturbing material, but it’s made even scarier by the serious, realistic approach. 

The Silence of the Lambs is remembered as one of the scariest movies of all-time—yet, it’s one of those movies that’s often cited as more of a thriller than a horror movie. I’m not inclined to argue the point, but the point I always bring up as making it definitively horror is a spoiler, and I don’t want to spoil anything, because the first time I sat down to watch this movie, I knew nothing about it, except that Hannibal Lecter was a notorious cannibal psychopath. It’s interesting that, though the film gives plenty of insight into Lecter, there isn’t really one particular scene that lays out all his defining characteristics in a neat, direct manner. Most of what is known about him comes from snippets of dialogue from characters other than him. 

In total, Lecter’s screen-time isn’t much, but every second he’s on screen is captivating. Hopkins’ portrayal of the character became iconic (and, for a time, definitive) for good reason. He’s scary, but not the kind of scary that makes you jump. He gets under your skin, and is intriguing at the same time as being repulsive. He’s suave and courteous, yet harsh and evil. It’s almost unfair, in a way, that he gets all the recognition for this film, when it’s really Jodie Foster who carries the whole thing. She’s vulnerable but tough, sympathetic, and surely one of the best horror heroines since Ellen Ripley in Alien. 

I love how the horror comes from so many angles throughout the film. There’s Buffalo Bill on the loose, but then there’s Hannibal, too, and Clarice’s flashbacks (some of the most effective flashbacks I can think of in a movie), and the off-putting side character Dr. Chilton, and it all twists together, but also propels the movie forward and makes for an excellent build of suspense. 

Director Jonathan Demme’s decisions to show the gory details in very particular ways reminds me of what Alfred Hitchcock did in Psycho. It seems like you see more than you really do. There isn’t one direct, clear shot of Buffalo Bill’s victim as Clarice and the others examine her in the funeral home, we get it in glimpses, and it’s scarier. The environments, too, play a huge part in the unsettling nature of the film: Hannibal’s glass cell, Buffalo Bill’s labyrinth of a basement, the late-winter Pennsylvania suburbs. Part of what makes it so unique, visually, are the constant close-ups of everyone’s faces, with the actor’s often looking directly into the lens, at the audience. It doesn’t ever feel gimmicky or silly, it only adds to the horror. 

So you have incredible performances, tight editing, confident direction, a haunting score by Howard Shore, and disturbing visuals, but it never devolves into exploitative gore or cheap thrills. In the end, though, I have to pin down the film’s success to the source material. As incredible as the acting and directing and music all is, the story and characters are what’s so great about it. Thomas Harris’ novel is adapted faithfully, with few major changes, because it was just that good to begin with. 

The Silence of the Lambs is not an overrated film. In fact, I’d cite it as one of my all-time favourite horror movies. There are few films that can still be scary upon numerous repeat viewings. I think it holds up today, and is still just as thrilling, fascinating, and frightening as when it swept the Oscars back in the 1990’s.