Dr. Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)
We had to end with a villain who is sure to give you nightmares. He isn’t a slasher movie serial killer, he’s not a magical being or a possessed toy, but he is still pure evil: Hannibal Lecter. The character originates from a series of books, but is best known for the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. The words “sociopath” and “psychopath” are thrown around to describe Lecter. He showed early signs of psychopathy as a child when he tortured animals, but doctors don’t quite know how to describe him.
Whether he’s a psychopath or a sociopath, one thing is for sure: Lecter is a freak. He may be brilliant and cultured (he is a psychiatrist after all) with refined taste and a polite demeanor, but there is one glaring problem. Hannibal Lecter is a cannibal. He prepares gourmet meals from human flesh, famously talking about eating a human liver “with some fava beans and a nice Chianti” in the film. He’s also known to kill people for having bad manners, so that’s… respectable?
As messed up as Lecter is, the FBI seek out Lecter to help them catch the serial killer Buffalo Bill. Him and FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling form a weird relationship while working on the case together, and she gets frustrated over Lecter’s cryptic clues about important information. In exchange for helping on the case, Lecter is granted a transfer to a lower security prison.
You had to know Hannibal Lecter had a plan all along. Lecter kills his guards and escapes because that man was way too smart to be kept captive for very long. The most chilling thing about Hannibal is his calm, respectful demeanor, especially when you know what he’s capable of.
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