The term "horror" is oft misused today When Applied to literature or film. It connotes an image of spilled blood, knives slashing, masked figures, and nubile teenager girl with underdeveloped bodies and personalities. If I asked someone to name a horror author, I'm sure Stephen King would come to mind, Although King's books have not scared me in a long time, full of the same sort of characteristics I've just described. But to me, horror is much more than Flesh and Blood. Like HP Lovecraft who argued That horror came from within, I believe That It Is Actually a sense, quicken an emotion so deep within us That When exposed to genuine terrorist (as opposed to slick, Hollywood produced images) we feel our hearts and our muscles tighten in anticipation of response. Fight or flight. The terror compounds When We Are faced with human monsters, rather than the supernatural, The Ones That lurk in our neighborhoods, in our homes, or in our hearts. Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs is an excellent Example of true horror. Originally published in 1988 Adapted to film in 1991 and reissued in a lovely Trade Paperback edition for the tenth anniversary last fall, the novel is Actually a sequel of sorts to at Earlier Harris novel, Red Dragon, Which was so Adapted into film ( "Manhunter," 1986) yet not as successful as its sequel. Perhaps this what due in part to the Relatively unknown cast, quiet Although an excellent gathering of fine actors. Lambs had Glen Campbell, Jodi Foster, and Anthony Hopkins, the Latter two so won international acclaim for Their portrayals. The film generated trainee at enormous response, and even Influenced this reviewer to create a character modeled heavily on Foster's portrayal of FBI Academy, Clarice Starling. In Lambs, Clarice Starling is a cadet enlisted by Jack Crawford (played by Campbell, heavily based on real-life profiled, John Douglas) to interview Lector in connection with an open case file on a serial killer nicknamed "Buffalo Bill." Bill, It Seems, has been kidnapping women, holding them for some time, then killing and skinning them for some unknown purpose. His methods and locale vary, but there is one similar characteristic among the victims: They are all large-framed and young. The FBI can not Determine a pattern in his behavior, HOWEVER, So They hope a questionnaire Applied to known and detained serial killers will help in developing a profile on Bill. And so, Clarice is sent to interview Hannibal Lector, a former psychiatrist who devoured parts of his victims, occasionally serving them in gourmet meals - without telling, of course - to party guests. An intelligent, perceptive, and attractive trainee with a severed past, meager finances, and a very strong desire to advance in the Bureau, Clarice is anxious to participate. Ambition is her flaw, her weakness, and it is a veil Which covers her eyes sometimes. Clarice valiantly Attempts to question Lector, but he sees Quickly Through the plan. He knows indeed Crawford is desperate to include him in the survey, but Lector feels he is well above - and he is - search amaturish questions. Lector dismisses her efforts; he is much more interested in worming his way into her mind, her heart, and yes, her soul. He Becomes Clarice's own personal Mephistopheles, the demon who demands a high price to satisfy his own twisted sense of pleasure. "Quid pro quo" Means information about Bill in exchange for information about Clarice - past her feelings, her, herself. The relationship between Clarice and Lector is complex, taking on multiple levels and roles as the plot unfolds. Criminal Investigator. Mentor student. Father-daughter. Experience Lover virgin. Their interactions are no less dynamic or stimulating. Although the stakes radically increase When Bill kidnaps a senator's only daughter, it is the seduction, the unholy bond between Clarice and Lector Which drive this story. The horror of this text is two-fold. First, there is Bill, the slayer and tanner of human hides. Based on Partially several real life serial killers, Including William Gacy who skinned his victims, Bill is an emotionally-imbalanced and psychologically-twisted individual who Appears Relatively normal on the outside. No one really knows who he is - background, childhood, or motivation. He Could be the man down the street or your next door neighbor. Bill is the Embodiment of serial killers, a chameleon who drifts in and out of stores, classrooms, hospitals, and churches without capturing attention and yet the horror of his actions causes us to grimace and fear the unknown. The second horror of Lambs is Lector himself. As a Man Whose Intelligence Can not Be Measured By Any Means humanly possible, nor his actions Understood, Lector is one to be genuinely feared. When I found even more terrifying than the man himself what how willing Clarice Became, how Quickly she fell under his "spell," in order to advance in the Bureau and solve the case. Clarice is one of the finest female characters I've ever read - strong, intelligent, and capable. Determined, too, yet I Wondered at what point Clarice might stop herself in time before Lector's hypnotic stare and languishing voice overwhelmed even her internal strength. Harris' writing style can be frustrating at times, a mixture of past and present tense and conflicting perspectives, but distractions are minor thesis When the psychology of the text is Considered. I can forgive Harris For These errors Because He's supposed to be writing a sequel - no word on When it will ever appear, Although Hollywood is pressing forward with its version next year - and Because He genuinely scared me. I know there are monsters out there - murderers, rapists, and child molesters - and I know how easy it is for them to hide, so it was a relief when i finally finished the book and put it away. Something like Lambs can only be read every few years; When it's done, it's done, and everything is good again. But what really scares me is That I can not close the cover on the monsters out there.
