Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal - Red Dragon

These films or the "Hannibal Lector" films are all spectacular thrillers. These are examples of psychological thrillers because the infamous Dr Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) plays the antagonist who is a psychotic genius who tries to get the upper hand psychologically of the detectives who study him and who require his help to figure out the minds of the other serial killers. Although all three of these have been directed by different people all have been successes. The films have been listed chronologically and the directors are: Jonathan Demme (1991), Brett Ratner (2001) and Ridley Scott (2002).

I feel that these films are masters of suspense and tension. The clip shown above is taken from one of the most famous scenes in film. The simple camera shots of close ups, extreme close ups, over the shoulder shots and mid shots together with the camera movement of panning, tilt shots, tracking shots, low angle shots and Steadicam. All of this camera work gives the impression of a disturbing place to be and that the killers who are behind bars and glass all have the higher status' and are in power mentally because the female detective is afraid and this decreases her psychological state.

When Dr Hannibal Lecter is standing as if waiting for the detective this gives a terrifying impression to the audience because Dr Lecter seemed to have known that she was coming. This gives a chilling feel and this freaks out the audience. This scene is a particularly effective thriller example. The tension is built up when the detective walks past all the other cells and the tracking shot along with the close up of the detectives face. The suspense is created in this scene through the dialogue between Dr Lecter and the detective. The way that the camera cuts between over the shoulder shots and then becomes normal cuts of extreme close ups that emphasize the confrontation between the two people. Eventually Dr. Lecter gets the upper hand psychologically and the audience knows this when the detective sits down and there is a high angle shot to represent the power Dr Lecter has over the detective and how much more superior he is than her.