"You wake up sometimes, don't you? You wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the lambs"

Review: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
An Augustus Review of 9/10
For my last review of this week, I've decided to do a movie from the early 90s. This movie is creepy, terrifying and absolutely fantastic. This is one of those movies that keeps me awake all night thinking and trembling. Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready for terror, cannibalism and a real mystery? Are you ready for The Silence of the Lambs?

The Silence of the Lambs stars Jodie Foster as Clarice, Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector, Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill and Scott Glen as Jack. 

Clarice is an FBI agent fresh out of the academy who is pulled by Scott Glen to go on a special task. She is asked to interview a former psychiatrist and incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer: Hannibal Lector. Glenn believes that Lector will be able to help the FBI find another serial killer, Buffalo Bill, who rapes and skins his female victims. 

Clarice travels to the hospital for the criminally insane in Baltimore where she meets Lector. At first, he seems to be quite courteous but later grows impatient at Clarice's mediocre interrogation.   For entertainment, he beings to turn the interrogation on her and she decides to leave. On her way out, Lector decides to be "cooperative"; he tells Clarice of an old patient of his whom he believes might be of help. 

Lector's hint brings Clarice to an old storage shed where she finds the patient's severed head in a bag. Once she returns to the hospital, Lector tells her that Buffalo Bill was after his patient. He offers to profile Bill but on the condition that he is moved to a different facility and given a new doctor. 

Buffalo Bill kidnaps the senator's daughter and Clarice is given instructions to make a fake deal with Lector: information on Buffalo Bill in exchange for a new facility. In her pursuit to get information, Lector flips the game on her. He begins to ask her questions and will only reveal information if she reveals bits on her personal past, something she was warned not to do. The doctor of the facility records the conversation and tells Lector he will make him a better deal. Lector agrees and is flown to Tennessee where he profiles Buffalo Bill. 

The hunt for Buffalo Bill begins and Clarice visits Lector in his new cell. She attempts to ask for more information but he is able to turn the interrogation on her. He asks her of her past which she reveals fully. Lector gives her Buffalo Bill's case file before they are interrupted by the police and she is escorted out. That night, Lector manages to escape his cell and kill the guards. Now Clarice has to face her past, Buffalo Bill and Hannibal Lector. 

This movie was a box office success. It grossed over 13 million in its first weekend, surpassing its initial budget. The movie later grossed over 270 million worldwide, making it the fourth highest grossing film of 1991. 

So if you are feeling brave and ready for a real horror-thriller, curl up on the couch and watch with your full intention. Oh, and make sure no one can sneak up behind you, otherwise you will have to change your diaper. 

- Augustus