‘Hannibal’ doesn’t bite at box office
The childhood tale of Lecter is revealed in “Silence of the Lambs” prequel
By Eric James, contributing writer
Posted on February 12, 2007

Here’s a note to Thomas Harris, the author of “The Silence of the Lambs:” stop letting money-hungry studios talk you into making undercooked and unnecessary Hannibal Lecter sequels, prequels and spinoffs, such as “Hannibal Rising.”

“The Silence of the Lambs” is a great, successful film, so it’s easy to see why anyone would want to cash in on the Lecter character. But please, for the sake of moviegoers everywhere, move on. “The Silence of the Lambs” immortalized Lecter and was so well made that every subsequent movie with his character has paled in comparison. It’s not that these movies are so terrible — they just have impossibly high standards to live up to.

“Hannibal Rising” delves deep into Lecter’s past, going back to his childhood during World War II. His family is killed during a battle, so the young Lecter (played by Aaron Thomas, in his film debut) and his younger sister, Mischa (played by Helena Lia Tachovska, also in her film debut), are left to hide in their abandoned house. Nazi soldiers break in looking for shelter and food, looting the house and shackling the children. When the food runs out and they face starvation, they decide to — you guessed it — eat Mischa by boiling her in a stew.

After the house is bombed, Lecter is put in an orphanage, but he is now a deeply disturbed and emotionally scarred adolescent. Eight years later, he escapes the orphanage and travels to France in search of Lady Murasaki Shikibu (played by Li Gong, “Memoirs of a Geisha”), his late uncle’s Japanese wife. She welcomes him into her high-class lifestyle and she is slowly able to build a close bond with him. While embracing the high life, Lecter still can’t shake the terrible memories of his traumatic past, and is prone to fits of murderous rage. The combination of his horrible past and his new extravagant lifestyle show the transformation from young Lecter into the classy, crazy serial killer audiences all know and love. 

His transformation from young, traumatized child into sociopath serial killer should have been the basis for the whole movie. It was interesting, entertaining and provided insight into Dr. Lecter’s psyche. It made viewers want to see him succeed and overcome his childhood obstacles. However, when Hannibal learns that the four soldiers who ate his sister are alive, he vows to kill them all, degenerating the film into a common revenge flick with traces of a mobster movie. Vladis Grutas (played by Rhys Ifans, “Little Nicky”), the leader of the soldiers, is involved in some sort of mafia, complete with crony bodyguards and an organized slave trade of women. These side stories were unnecessary and a bit ridiculous, which made the film lose its main focus: Hannibal Lecter. 

This film was not terrible. In fact, it had many good qualities. Gaspard Ulliel (from TV’s “Alias”), who plays the older Hannibal Lecter does a surprisingly amazing job at getting the good Dr. Lecter just right. But, as noted before, if it’s not “The Silence of the Lambs,” don’t bother.