a genuinely scary, excellently crafted masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2001)

This film scared the crap out of me the first time I saw it, and considering how many horror/suspense films I had seen by that point, that's no small matter. At the same time I was giving my nervous system a workout, I was sitting there in awe of how well written the film was, how excellently defined and sketched all the characters were, how intellectually challenging the piece was, and how unbelievably good Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins performances were- thank God they both won Oscars. Frankly, I was disappointed to learn that there would be a sequel, as I think this film, and its story, stand so well on their own and need no elaboration. As excellent and terrifying as JAWS, only with people... which is somehow even scarier, once you really start to think about. I worry the sequels will run the way of JAWS 2, 3D, and THE REVENGE.