7/10
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991). This film has acquired such a reputation for scariness that it’s impossible for anyone to approach it with the innocence with which it was viewed first time around. Plus the subsequent Lecter films have been so hammy that Hopkins’ performance has come to seem more like pantomime. Take all that away and view the film with beginner’s eyes, appreciate what Jodie Foster brings to the film, and the skill with which Jonathan Demme creates anxiety and fear without recourse to much gore – and then you can see why it won all 5 major Oscars.
