Day 354: Hannibal

There's nothing quite like watching a serial killer show in the dark. Last night when I couldn't sleep I went scrounging through Prime Video's catalogue looking for something fitting, and stumbled across a show called 'Hannibal.' Unlike 'Silence of the Lambs,' this version of Dr. Hannibal Lecter is on the other side of the bars, a psychiatrist who works with the FBI to help keep their best criminal investigator, Will Graham, from completely losing his mind. Together they work toward profiling serial killers, Will by using his unique ability to put himself into their minds, and Dr. Lecter by, well, just being a stone cold killer himself. Of course, nobody knows he's a killer. Yet.

I'm only a few episodes in, but so far it's blown me away with it's thorough character building, horrific special effects, and the nightmarishly good acting. Watching Mads Mikkelsen play someone like Dr. Lecter, who by sheer intellectual power has managed to create the guise of someone with real empathy, across from Hugh Dancy's pathologically empathetic Will Graham is just amazing. One is a shark in human skin who pretends to have a heart so well he fools even the best of the best, generating this aura of cold disquiet like he has to hide his true emotions, even though the viewer knows there actually are none. The other is the exact opposite, someone with such an overabundance of empathy that he can even step into the shoes of a serial killer. They both end up similar to one another outwardly because they both have to hide what's really going on inside. The subtle differences that shine through the veil are what make them such an interesting pair.

Dr. Lecter's murky motivations for working with the FBI create a powerful, overarching suspense that keeps everything interesting. I'm constantly on my toes trying to figure out what his next move will be. He seems to be deeply interested in Will's psychology for some reason, maybe because he'd like to make another killer out of him, or maybe because he thinks Will might be someone who can understand his desires. The implications are horrifying, and every time the guy is on screen I'm left waiting with baited breath for him to finally snap and do something utterly unhinged to one of the main characters. He's certainly demonstrated himself capable of doing so. It's more terrifying than many of the outright horror movies I've seen, even if the structure of the show is more similar to a crime serial than true horror. It's a great combination that hit just right at one in the morning. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much after that.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley