The Silence of the Lambs (1991) review

Been hearing good things about The Silence of the Lambs for a long time, so I waited for it to finally stream on Netflix Philippines. What immediately caught my attention was the muted look. The colors feel drained and subdued, almost sickly at times, which fits the cold and unsettling atmosphere of the film. But I don’t know about you, thematically I enjoyed Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) more than this. That film pulled me deeper into the psychological side of evil and the disturbing idea of someone monstrous still being capable of appearing normal and charming. The Silence of the Lambs obviously explores similar darkness, but emotionally and thematically, it just did not grab me as much. I love Anthony Hopkins’ accent and delivery here. Very different from how I usually hear him. There is something so controlled and precise about the way he speaks that makes Hannibal Lecter feel even more intimidating. He's calm, articulate, and almost unnervingly polite. He does not need to shout or act traditionally scary. He sounds like someone who already knows more than everyone else in the room. He is a master planner and deceiver. One wrong slip around him and you are dead. The escape sequence is easily the highlight for me because it finally shows just how dangerous his intelligence really is. He studies people, waits patiently, manipulates the situation, and when the opportunity appears, everything clicks into place. That entire sequence lived up to the reputation of the movie for me. The rest, though? Pretty meh.