"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver, with some fava beans, and a nice chianti"
Hannibal Lecter
It may be a tad cliche to add this one, but there is a reason why he has become one of the most well known villains in film history. Where to beginn? Well for starters, in his first film appearance in The Silence of the Lambs, he has a lot of build up, and you hear people talk about all of the horrible things that he has done to people and how he fed his victims to dinner guests in the form of dishes. And yet, when you see him, he is perfectly polite and while he does ask some rather prying questions, he is, on all accounts, a gentleman. He even has the nickname of "The Gentleman Killer" because his victims are those who are especially cruel or rude. Sounds almost like Dexter, except criminals and people that mess up playing the violin in an orchestra are all on his hit list. And before any of you think that I was getting anywhere near saying that we should root or get behind him, he did rip a guys face off while escaping from prison. Not exactly something I would see and yell "Yeah! Go team!" for. The other aspect about this character that makes it so memorable is his relationship to the film's protagonist, Clarice Starling. At the beginning, he is intrigued by her, and by the end, it is hinted that he is not only fond of her, but fancies her. And we all know how it feels to have someone who isn't right in the head having the hots for you, am I right? The idea of having a bloodthirsty murderer falling in love with you, while it doesn't mean your life is in danger, it still puts an uneasy feeling in the pit of one's stomach. And while this relationship does get kinda cheesy in the sequel Hannibal, it still adds another level of creepiness to both the book and the movie Silence of the Lambs.
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