Manhunter (1986): An FBI specialist tracks a serial killer who appears to select his victims at random.
This is the first adaptation of a Thomas Harris book the has Hannibal Lecter in it. He’s not the star in it, but he has a small role. This movie was obviously filmed before Silence of the Lambs, but it has some of the same characteristics of that story.
The star of the story is an FBI agent, who is trying to capture the Tooth Fairy serial killer. In order to try to understand him better, he goes to prison and asks the help of Hannibal Lecter.
That’s where the similarities end. Hannibal is played by Brian Cox, and I liked his portrayal. He is less noble than Hopkins, but he is as scary. Will Petersen also gave a good performance, but one thing about his character bugged me. He tries to understand the serial killers by becoming one of them, by having their same thoughts. However when he speaks out loud as if speaking to the killer, it almost felt too cheesy.
This is a film of the ’80s, so I can understand that, but it just doesn’t feel right to me, watching it in the 21st century. The music is also very 80’s, another thing that took me out of the scenes. Not that it’s bad, but it distracted me from the story.
The portrayal of the Tooth Fairy killer was also a little bit too much. No subtleties, even his face looked like a serial killer.
In the end this thriller didn’t work for me, but it’s probably due to the fact that I am only watching it now. It just didn’t grab me at all, and I can’t help comparing it to Silence of the Lambs, which I liked. Unfair comparison, but inevitable.
Rating: 2 Stars