Review of Hannibal (2001) by Steven C — 06 Apr 2012

I am a fan of Ridley Scott's "Hannibal," more so than most people. I like the film, for simply, realizing that it can never be Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs." There was no way this sequel could ever live up to it's Oscar winning predecessor.

Scott knew this from the start. What he does here is craft a film that, yes acts as a sequel, but also acts as it's own standalone story. "Hannibal" is so different in tone, style and narrative than "The Silence of the Lambs" that is practically forces you judge it on it's own merits.

(The presence of Julianne Moore alone dictates this.) The picture Scott has made is quietly thrilling, visually striking and very atmospheric. "Hannibal" is the definition of an elegant horror film.

Where "The Silence of the Lambs" was a procedural thriller, "Hannibal" is a psychological horror film. Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman and Ray Liotta are all very good here.

The film also adds in a very dark sense of humor to the proceedings, finding it's own way of incorporating the sense of macabre so important to the first film. Overall, I really like "Hannibal", it's engrossing, well made and a very interesting way of crafting a sequel.