The Perfect Horror Movie

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2016)

Hi, my name is Adam, and I'm a horror movie addict. God, that felt stupid to say, but it seemed like the right way to start the review. I guess if you took the word horror out, you'd still have the truth. I'm a movie addict. And this is The Perfect Movie. As a matter of fact, this film is the reason I love horror movies, and movies in general. I read the book the summer after my eighth grade year (a little too young, still to really appreciate it.) The novel, let me say, as an aspiring horror writer, is excellent and ranks in my top 10 desert island books. The film changes only minor aspects of the film, and is in itself almost as brilliant, with great writing, great directing and top notch acting from Jodie Foster as FBI agent (in training) Clarice Starling, Scott Glenn as her boss, Jack Crawford. Ted Levine plays a great villain as Jame Gumb. But of course, the crown jewel is Anthony Hopkins as the demonic cannibal madman Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who offers the key to solving the film's over arching serial killer mystery. As far as horror villains go, there are two kinds. The silent embodiment of rage: Jason, Michael Myers, xenomorphs, Leatherface. And then, there are the truly terrifying, intelligent villains: John Doe, John Kramer, the cenobites and of course Hannibal Lecter. Lecter's ego, his monstrous brain, and his constant presence throughout the work are what give him his power, and his ability to remain calm, even when committing unspeakable acts of murder and mutilation are what give the film its true "horror" quality.