As the Halloween season dwindles and you search for the last fix of horror (or even if you look for it year-round), the next big horror hit might lead you to recent well-received ones like Talk to Me, Evil Dead Rise, or Totally Killer. However, these highly rated spooky films are far from perfect by most standards; you would have to go back pretty far to reach one that most consider truly top-of-the-line for horror and film history altogether. The Silence of the Lambs is, incredibly, the last film so far to meet those criteria.
The Silence of the Lambs Synopsis
A young FBI trainee gets the opportunity to interview a famous genius psychopath, forming an unusual relationship to gain his advice on catching another serial killer. While exploring the psychotic mind, she learns more about the fascinating darkness of humanity than she ever could have expected.
No Film Can Escape the Influence of Their Predecessors
As with every genre, horror films come with a set of conventions, and given the extensive history of film, these have long been established and widely parodied by decades. Setting these conventions in original lenses has kept the horror genre as thrilling and fresh as ever in the 21st century, from horror auteurs like Ari Aster and Jordan Peele to the long-running critical and fan successes of franchises like Scream. As in every decade, there is an undercurrent of schlock that critics mock to this day, but immortally unquestionable films like Aftersun, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Past Lives do not show up anymore in horror cinema.
The Silence of the Lambs, unlike any 21st-century horror film, has Oscar-worthy drama, acting, and direction courtesy of Jonathan Demme; since then, the internationally renowned awards have largely ignored the genre. After sweeping the Oscars, The Silence of the Lambs lost none of its potency with audiences, featuring no less than two terrifying villains unrivaled in any future horror film. Combine that with a story that makes you feel for Clarice Starling’s struggles as a young, attractive woman in her male-dominated field, and the results appeal to more than just avid horror viewers.
Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’
The Silence of the Lambs Perfectly Juggles Other Genres Alongside Horror
More often than not, serial killers have been the tool of thrillers more than horror films; we do not think of Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Vorhees as serial killers, just plain old monsters in barely human form. Though stereotypes push the general assumptions of horror even today towards either high-brow headscratchers or low-brow gorefests, the hint of realism utilized in the thriller genre opens it to larger audiences. The Silence of the Lambs has enough frightening images to classify as horror, but it balances the necessary dourness of the subject with some brisk moments that elevate the film; some do not even classify it as horror for that reason.
Looking at reviews, streaming numbers, and statistics on movie-focused social media like Letterboxd (where the film has a 4.3/5 rating), no other horror film has yet beat the exquisite tight-rope balance of popularity and quality that The Silence of the Lambs achieved. After over 30 years, no subsequent horror film has touched it, but time will tell if we more fondly remember recent films in upcoming decades. Until then, The Silence of the Lambs wins on all counts.
The Silence of the Lambs is streaming now on Max.