The Silence of the Lambs
There’s a good reason why The Silence of the Lambs is widely regarded as one of the best horror/thrillers of all time, and that’s because it is. It’s one of those rare movies that was able to capture that lighting in a bottle, that rare confluence of puzzle pieces that meshed together perfectly to create a singular vision that left an indelible mark on film history. Everything from the writing to the casting to the editing to the set and costume design is so on point it could be used by a vicious serial killer as a murder weapon. The Silence of the Lambs has become one of the most iconic and most-parodied films of all time to the point where even people who have never seen the movie will understand the reference “Hello, Clarice” or instantly recognize Hannibal Lector’s famous face restraints. Director Jonathan Demme demonstrates a mastery of the source material that doesn’t lean so far into its conceits to be self-indulgent but at the same time doesn’t shy away from the more fantastical and macabre elements of the story. The Silence of…