The silence of the lambs full movie

Although it's Dr. As a deranged serial killer who kidnaps and skins women in order to wear them, he's among horror's truly terrifying human villains, and is made even scarier by the true story underpinning the character. To have a film make a lasting impression on the world, filmmakers often take real-life inspirations for the movie's villain to add an element of authenticity to its horror.

Buffalo Bill's technique of luring victims into a van is directly inspired by Bundy, while the idea of imprisoning women in a basement is taken from Heidnik's crimes. In doing so, The Silence of the Lambs blurs the lines between what is real and what is fiction. But who's the smartest character?

Buffalo bill horror movie

The Silence of the Lambs is adapted from the novel of the same name by author Thomas Harris. Although the plot remains relatively the same, there are a handful of changes between the film and the novel. One of Silence Of The Lambs ' changes is Buffalo Bill 's character, who is somehow even more disturbing and horrifying on the page.

Much has been noted about LeVine's stellar performance, but the movie suffers from having to shorten much of the depiction of the character, simplifying the villain down and prevented some major moments from appearing in the movie.

Buffalo bill silence of the lambs dance

Buffalo Bill's psyche and backstory are further dissected in the novel, explaining that he wants to look like his dead mother. This elaborates on his motivation in a way that makes the villain more chilling by furthering his parallels with real serial killers. Though Ted LeVine's performance creates a more viscerally unnerving Buffalo Bill due to the nature of movies being a faster medium - where audiences can't decide their own pace as they might with a book - the Silence of the Lambs series has an arguably scarier version of the character in the novel by allowing audiences a deeper insight into the iconic villain.

The essence of any good horror movie is giving the audience enough information so that the story on screen can come alive in their minds. The Silence of the Lambs not only accomplishes this feat with flying colors, but takes this device a step further in basing Buffalo Bill on a true story. Where series icon Hannibal is almost a larger than life figure due to his dignified air being combined with his cannibalism, Buffalo Bill is the polar opposite.

The Silence of the Lambs villain is able to be as potent as he is exactly because he feels so close to real life, and serves as a reminder that serial killers are oftentimes more scary than any conventional horror movie monsters.