The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American psychological horror film following a young F.B.I who employs the help of a killer to catch a serial killer.
Hopkins' cumulative screen image is one of civility and decency, and the association adds to the withering, macabre effect of his murderer. It is a remarkably lucid portrait of lunacy.
Has any horror movie equalled it in the past 22 years? Perhaps. But if only one super-gory flick is ever considered worthy enough for the Academy's top prize, I'm fine with this being it.
This multi-Oscar-winning classic, adapted from Thomas Harris's bestseller, was responsible for giving cinematic serial killers a better image, thanks to Anthony Hopkins's enthralling portrayal of Hannibal Lecter.
The Silence of the Lambs, with its dark Freudian subtext, its Poe-like air of foreboding and its chillingly gritty characterizations, is simply a very tough and very scary little movie.